Hong Kong Stocks Rise For Seventh Day, Shanghai Up

Hong Kong stocks finished with healthy gains on Tuesday, extending a rally to seven days following a record lead from Wall Street, as investors bet on the economic rebound from the virus crisis.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.1 percent, to 25,057.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 percent, to 2,956 while the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.7 percent, to 1,869.

Sydney jumped more than 2 percent as investors there returned from an extended weekend break to play catch-up with Monday's regional advance.

Taipei added 0.2 percent, while Singapore and Manila each rallied more than 1 percent.

Seoul rose 0.2 percent despite geopolitical concerns re-emerging after North Korea said it was severing all official communication links with the South, and Mumbai was up 0.4 percent.

But profit-taking dragged Tokyo 0.4 percent lower and Wellington slipped 2 percent after racking up gains of more than 3 percent on Monday.

Oil markets remain supported by expectations for a pick-up in demand as lockdowns are eased, as well as huge output cuts by leading producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

AxiCorp's Stephen Innes suggested the recent run-up in crude over the past few weeks could begin to plateau.

"While equity markets are looking ahead to a recovery in corporate profits in 2021, energy markets do not have the luxury to be as forward-looking," he said in a commentary. (AFP)