Asian share markets edged ahead on Tuesday as investors wagered China's economic strength would help underpin growth in the region, even as pandemic lockdowns threatened to lengthen the road to recovery in the West.
U.S. stocks also looked a little steadier as futures for the S&P 500 added 0.4per cent and NASDAQ futures 0.3per cent. For now, dealers were cautious ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration given the risk of more mob violence, along with doubts about how much of his fiscal stimulus package will pass Republican opposition in Congress.
"That would be sufficient to close any output gap and underpin a gradual recovery in inflation as demand firms," they wrote."But it will be a difficult winter, and investors will need renewed confidence in the inflation trade before established earlier trends reassert themselves."