Asian shares advance after Wall St rally; gold extends gains
MITO, Japan (AP) — Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday after U.S. stocks resumed their upward march on Wall Street, while the price of gold pushed to nearly $1,975 per ounce.
Benchmarks climbed in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai after the S&P 500 rose 0.7% overnight.
Much attention will be focused on a two-day meeting for the Federal Reserve that begins Tuesday, while hopes for more help for the American economy are rising as Congress debates another stimulus package.
The closure of the U.S. Consulate in western China's Chengdu, following the shutdown of China's consulate in Houston, Texas, highlighted antagonisms between Washington and Beijing that are adding to jitters at a time when the coronavirus pandemic appears to be regaining its grip in parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan and Vietnam.
Such “acute geo-political uncertainties and socio-political strains all align with preference for a currency-like, safe-haven hard asset such as gold at the expense of the U.S. dollar," Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.
The price of gold jumped a fresh intraday high of $1,974.70 an ounce on Tuesday before retreating slightly. As of 0530 GMT it was trading at $1,932.60, up $1.60.
Gold usually tends to rise when worries about the economy are high.
Share prices advanced across Asia, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index up 0.3% to 22,792.76 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong adding 1% to 24,844.54. The Shanghai Composite index surged 1.1% to 3,241.44 and the S&P ASX/200 in Sydney gained 0.7% to 6,083.50.
South Korea's Kospi picked up 1.2% to 2,243.66.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 23.78 points overnight to 3,239.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 26,584.77. Heavy buying of technology shares helped push the Nasdaq composite 1.7% higher,...
