By Investors Hub
Asian stocks finished broadly higher on Tuesday as overnight gains on Wall Street and solid economic data from Germany and the U.S. helped investors shrug off renewed worries over political uncertainty in Germany.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 18.69 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 3,411.09, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up 557.76 points or 1.9 percent to 29,818.07.
Japanese shares rose notably as the greenback remained supported by higher U.S. bond yields. The Nikkei 225 Index advanced 154.72 points or 0.7 percent to 22,416.48, and the broader Topix closed 0.7 percent higher at 1,771.13.
Automakers posted broad-based gains, with Honda Motor rising 0.7 percent and Toyota Motor ending up 1.4 percent. Robot maker Fanuc advanced 1.8 percent and lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained 1.2 percent.
Defense equipment maker Ishikawa Seisakusho jumped 9.3 percent and Howa Machinery soared 17.4 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump named North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism.
Australian shares eked out modest gains as a stronger showing in Chinese steel futures helped lift miners and rising bond yields supported financials.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 17.85 points or 0.30 percent to 5,963.52, while the broader All Ordinaries Index finished up 16.20 points or 0.3 percent at 6,044.20.
ANZ, Westpac, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose between 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent. Crown Resorts gained 1.2 percent after announcing changes to its leadership team.
Meanwhile, GrainCorp lost nearly 5 percent after the company warned that fiscal 2018 will be a challenging year for its grains business.
Australia’s consumer confidence strengthened during the week ended November 19th to the highest level in sixteen weeks, a weekly survey compiled by ANZ Bank and Roy Morgan Research showed today.
Separately, minutes of the Reserve Bank’s November meeting showed that policymakers remained concerned about slow wage growth and inflation.
Adedapo Adesanya