SINGAPORE — Stocks in Japan led gains among Asia-Pacific markets as investors in the region react to more positive coronavirus vaccine news, as well as U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s choice of former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary.
In early trade, the Nikkei 225 jumped 2.35% as shares of robot maker Fanuc gained 2.22%. The Topix index advanced 2.18%. Markets in Japan were closed on Monday for a holiday.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.28%. Elsewhere in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained about 1%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.15% higher.
Vaccine hopes
Investor focus on Tuesday will likely be on the continued positive momentum surrounding the race for a coronavirus vaccine. AstraZeneca said Monday interim analysis showed its coronavirus vaccine has an average efficacy of 70% in protecting against the virus.
That follows other encouraging vaccine results in recent weeks, with late-stage trial readouts from Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna showing their respective Covid-19 vaccine candidates were about 95% effective.
Meanwhile, news that Biden has picked former U.S. Fed Chair Yellen to be Treasury secretary could also buoy investor sentiment on Tuesday. If confirmed by the Senate, she is set to be the first woman to lead the department.
“A strong spirit of cooperation between the Fed and Treasury is one thing of which we can now be assured,” Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
Stocks rose overnight on Wall Street, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 327.79 points higher at 29.591.27. The S&P 500 ended its trading day 0.6% higher at 3,577.59, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% to close at 11,880.63.
Currencies
Source: CNBC