WASHINGTON - Asian markets advanced on Tuesday as Covid-19 vaccine progress shored up global sentiment and US President-elect Joe Biden was given the go-ahead to begin his White House transition.
That helped futures for the S&P 500 up 0.6 per cent in early Asian trade while Japan's Nikkei rallied 2.5 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 per cent while South Korea's Kospi index advanced 0.7 per cent.Those gains followed an upbeat Wall Street session that was driven by positive vaccine news.
"Traders are still buying into vaccine news clearance, as the end of the pandemic becomes imaginable. Recent US data restored a bit of confidence that the economy is holding up, despite surging Covid-19 infections and a painful lack of fresh fiscal stimulus," said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst for IG Australia.
Some analysts expect big, short-term risks ahead the US Thanksgiving holiday, although others say unexpected news events at the start of the shorter trading week helped investors focus on the growing positives for financial markets.