Asian shares extended gains on Wednesday on hopes for progress in resolving the tariffs battle between the US and China as talks appeared to have been extended in Beijing.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3 per cent to 20,472.79 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.5 per cent to 26,512.06. The Shanghai Composite index surged 1.6 per cent to 2,566.66.
South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.9 per cent to 2,062.64. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 surged 0.9 per cent to 5,775.20. Shares also rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, reports AP.
Optimism over trade propelled shares to their third straight session of gains Tuesday, the longest winning streak for US indexes since late November.
The S&P 500 index rose 1.0 per cent to 2,574.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 1.1 per cent to 23,787.45 and the Nasdaq composite also gained 1.1 per cent, to 6,897.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 1.5 per cent, to 1,426.55.
Oil prices also continued to rally. US crude rose 80 cents to $50.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It has risen for eight of the past nine days and gained 2.6 per cent to $49.78 per barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 79 cents to $59.51 per barrel. It gained 2.4 per cent to $58.72 a barrel in London.
The dollar climbed to 108.91 yen from 108.75 yen. The euro rose $1.1454 from $1.1442.