Asian markets are trading higher Tuesday.
Sydney’s S&P/ASX index was up 1.4% in midday trading, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.7% higher and Taiwan’s TSEC 50 was 0.5% higher. Seoul’s KOSPI index had lost 2.6%.
The markets in Tokyo and Shanghai remained closed Tuesday.
Tuesday’s modest gains in Asia are a spillover from Monday’s late surge on Wall Street, with all three major U.S. indexes finishing in positive territory. Investors appear to be encouraged by the gradual easing of lockdowns and other social restrictions imposed to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic, raising hopes that consumer demand will begin to rise and hasten some form of economic recovery.
In oil futures trading, the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude, the U.S. benchmark, was $21.75 per barrel, a gain of 6.6%, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, was $28.33 per barrel, up 4%.
