Asia Markets: Shares rise in Asia on hopes for U.S. stimulus as Trump leaves hospital

Shares rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul.

Overnight, the S&P 500 SPX, +1.79% climbed 1.8%. Treasury yields and oil all rose after Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both noted the importance over the weekend of additional support for the economy.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.34% edged 0.1% lower to 5,938.60. Later Tuesday, the treasurer was set to reveal a big spending financial blueprint for the next few years that will drive business investment and job creation while repairing pandemic damage to the economy.

The annual budget is expected to contain a wage subsidy designed to get unemployed young Australians back to work. The government also hopes to bring forward planned income tax cuts.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will also reveal record debt is expected to accrue in the current fiscal year through next June.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +0.52% climbed 0.5% to 23,425.91 and the Hang Seng HSI, +0.78% in Hong Kong jumped 0.7% to 23,922.38. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.33% added 0.6% to 2,371.31.

Shares rose in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Overnight, the S&P 500 jumped 60.19 points to 3,408.63 amid widespread gains, with nine out of 10 stocks in the index rising. Energy producers and tech companies led the way.

The market’s rally accelerated after Trump tweeted in the afternoon that he’ll leave the hospital, though his medical team said he “may not entirely be out of the woods yet.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.68% rose 1.7% to 28,148.64 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +2.32% climbed 2.3% to 11,332.49. Smaller stocks rose even more in an indication of improved market optimism, with the Russell 2000 index advanced 2.8%, to 1,581.96.

The markets fell after Trump’s positive COVID test was reported Friday, tumbling on concerns that a White House victory for Democrat Joe Biden would mean higher taxes and tighter regulations for companies, which could drag down their profits. But analysts said a Democratic sweep of the election could also raise the probability of a big government support plan for the economy, something that investors have been clamoring for since jobless benefits and other stimulus Congress approved in March expired.

Pelosi told airline executives on Friday to stop the furloughs of tens of thousands of workers because aid for the industry was “imminent,” either as a stand-alone effort or as part of a wider rescue package. A stand-alone bill for airlines failed to advance in the House on Friday, but hopes remain for a larger effort.

A report on Monday said growth for the nation’s services industries last month was stronger than economists expected. That was encouraging, but it follows a string of mixed reports showing some areas of the economy have been slowing since the last round of aid from Congress expired.

MyoKardia MYOK, +57.83%, a biopharmaceutical company, surged 57.8% on Monday after Bristol Myers Squibb BMY, +0.81% said it would buy the 8-year-old company for $ 13.1 billion, or $ 225 per share in cash.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.766% rose to 0.76% from 0.70% late Friday.

U.S. benchmark crude oil CL00, +0.38% lost 2 cents to $ 39.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It surged $ 2.17 on Monday to $ 39.22 per barrel. Brent crude BRN00, +0.41%, the international standard, gained 3 cents to $ 41.32 per barrel.

In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar USDJPY, -0.08% weakened to 105.68 Japanese yen from 105.73 yen. The euro EURUSD, +0.01% rose to $ 1.1791 from $ 1.1786.