Asian markets were mostly higher for a third consecutive day Wednesday as U.S. lawmakers press forward on a large COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index closed 0.1% higher. The S&P/ASX index in Australia gained 0.5%. The Composite in Shanghai surged 1.4%. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.5%, and Taiwan’s TSEC index finished 0.6% higher.
In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is 1.9% higher, while Mumbai’s Sensex is 0.4% lower.
In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,842.90 per ounce, up 0.2%. U.S. crude oil is down 0.1%, selling at $58.26 per barrel, while Brent crude is selling slightly lower at $61.05 per barrel (-0.07%).
All three major U.S. indices are trending positively in futures trading.
