HSI Gains 2 Percent, Asian Market Rise On US Rally

Hong Kong stocks surged 2 percent on Tuesday, tracking healthy gains across Asia and following a record lead from Wall Street, with investors also cheered by a drop in new virus infections in the city.

The Hang Seng Index rallied over 480 points, to 24,946.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent, to 3,371 while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.7 percent, to 2,300.

Tokyo finished 1.7 percent higher after rallying more than 2 percent on Monday, helped by a drop in the yen that supported exporters, and Sydney piled on almost 2 percent.

Sydney piled on 1.9 percent, while Mumbai was up 1.7 percent. Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta were all more than 1 percent up. Wellington and Bangkok were up almost 1 percent.

Attention is now on Washington, where Democrats and Republicans are battling to hammer out a new package to save the US economy from the ravages of the pandemic.

"There's a big desire from both parties to get some kind of stimulus passed. I think the market is expecting that," said Bob Phillips, at Spectrum Management Group.

And Rodrigo Catril of National Australia Bank added: "For now it seems that the market is travelling with the expectation that a deal will eventually be struck, so it is a matter of when not if." (AFP)