SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were higher on Tuesday morning as investors await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.57% in early trade. Mainland Chinese stocks were also higher, with the Shanghai composite gaining 0.76% while the Shenzhen component adding 0.123%.
South Korea’s Kospi also added 1.54%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained nearly 2%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.84% higher.
Japan markets are closed for a holiday on Tuesday.
Investors will likely be focusing Tuesday on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision, set to be out at around 11:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Ahead of that announcement, the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7045, compared to levels below $0.702 seen yesterday.
The upcoming U.S. presidential election between incumbent Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will also weigh on investor sentiment.
Overnight on Wall Street, markets recovered from some of last week’s sharp losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to close 423.45 points higher, ending the day at 26,925.05. The S&P 500 added 1.2% to end the trading day at 3,310.24. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.4% higher at 10,957.61.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 94.033 after its rise last week from levels below 93.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.73 per dollar after seeing levels above 104.8 against the greenback yesterday.
Oil prices dipped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.46% to $38.79 per barrel. U.S. crude futures shed 0.3% to $36.70 per barrel.
Source: CNBC