Asia-Pacific markets traded up on Tuesday when traders dismissed geopolitical flashpoints in Iran and Venezuela, a criminal inquiry of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 3.4 percent to lead gains in the region after resuming trading following a holiday, while the Topix rose 2.13 percent.
Public broadcaster NHK reports that Japan will likely dissolve the Lower House of the country later this month and hold a snap election that would presumably take place in February under the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Index giants SoftBank improved by up to 5 percent, and Advantest and Tokyo Electron improved by 8.99 percent and 8.31 percent, respectively. The 10-year Japan government bond yield increased by more than 5 basis points to 2.15, and the 20-year government bond yield increased by over 8 basis points to 3.137.
The Japanese yen also dropped slightly to the lowest in a year of 158.25 per dollar. The Kospi of South Korea gained by 0.62 percent, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.30 percent.
The traders will also quietly monitor the oil prices as a result of the current protests in Iran. According to various reports on Sunday, President Donald Trump is considering various ways of intervening in Iran.
In one of his Monday stateside posts in Truth Social, Trump said that any nation that carries business with Iran will be subject to a 25 percent tariff “on any and all business being done with the United States of America.” The new tariff on the imports of the trading partners of Iran is effective immediately.
Brent crude futures up 1.52 percent to $64.3 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.44 percent to $59.76 as of 7:34 a.m. Singapore time (6:34 p.m. EST Sunday).
However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.68 percent. The Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong increased by 1.25, and the CSI 300 opened unchanged. The stock of Chinese semiconductor firm GigaDevice Semiconductor skyrocketed by almost 50 percent on its debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Therefore, the company raised HK$4.68 billion ($600 million) in an offering priced at HK$162 per share. U.S. equity futures remained unchanged in early Asian markets, before the U.S. consumer inflation report and major bank earnings announcements.
In the U.S., stocks bounced off their lows in the session with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording new all-time highs overnight.
The S&P 500 increased 0.16 percent to close at 6,977.27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 86.13, or 0.17 percent, and was at 49,590.20. Both the indexes reached new all-time intraday highs and closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.26 percent and closed at 23,733.90.
