The Kospi index of South Korea surged over 2 per cent on Tuesday to reach its sixth record high since a rally began on Monday due to hopes of an imminent trade agreement with the U.S.
South Korean stocks have been rolling since U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed CNBC in an exclusive interview Wednesday stateside that Washington was “about to finish up” trade negotiations with the Asian nation.
He stated that “The devil’s in the details, but we are ironing out the details.”
Kospi index has increased by approximately 61 percent so far. Auto stocks were used to boost the index as Hyundai Motor shares rose 6.45 percent and Kia Corp shares rose 4.28 percent. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics was up 1.73 percent as well.
The benchmark of Japan, the Nikkei 225, went up 1.5 percent to a new record, having closed at an all-time high on Monday. The Topix also increased by 0.73 percent to reach a record high.
Wider Asia-Pacific markets also started the day with higher gains, following the gains in the Wall Street, as Apple shares began to climb.
Japanese investors are also waiting the parliamentary vote of Sanae Takaichi, who is expected to be made the next Japan’s Prime Minister, following the announcement by the right-wing Japan Innovation Party that Monday that it was ready to support her premiership.
Meanwhile, the Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 increased to 0.50 percent.
The shares of the rare earth firms in the country increased following the signing of a critical minerals’ agreement between the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the U.S President Donald Trump on Tuesday, in an effort to counter the dominance of China.
Australia Lynas Rare Earths gained 3.8 percent, Iluka Resources increased by almost 6 percent, Pilbara Minerals has risen by 4.7 percent.
Therefore, the VHM skyrocketed over 30 percent and Northern Minerals increased almost 15 percent.
The Hang Seng Index increased by 1.17 percent in beginning trade in Hong Kong and the Hang Seng Tech index increased by 1.84 percent. Mainland’s CSI 300 was 0.3 percent was higher.
Shares of Hong Kong listed CATL rose 4.73 percent after the battery maker reported solid third-quarter earnings late Monday. The net profit of the Tesla battery supplier in the July to September increased by 41 percent to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.6 billion).
However, the Indian markets remain closed on holidays. Futures on the U.S. equity market made only modest gains in early Asian trade, in anticipation of a hectic week of earnings by major corporations and inflation.
The three major indicators in the U.S. increased overnight on a surge in Apple shares following an upgrade by Loop Capital on the company to buy instead of hold.
Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.12 or 515.97 points finishing at 46,706.58.
The S&P 500 also increased as 1.07 percent to close at 6,735.13, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.37 percent to close at 22,990.54.
