Stock Markets
Asian stocks rise after Koreas, US make diplomatic overtures
TOKYO— Asian shares rose Tuesday as both Koreas and the U.S. appeared to indicate a willingness to defuse the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear program. A rally on Wall Street fueled by gains in technology shares also helped.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1 per cent to 19,753.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 per cent to 5,757.50. South Korea’s markets were closed for a national holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent to 27,339.48, while the Shanghai Composite was climbed 0.3 per cent to 3,245.66. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.
NORTH KOREA: North Korea said Tuesday leader Kim Jong Un was briefed on his military’s plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam. But the comments also appeared to signal a path to defuse the deepening crisis with Washington, holding out the possibility that friction could ease if the U.S. made some gesture that Pyongyang considered a move to back away from previous “extremely dangerous reckless actions.”
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 jumped 1 per cent to 2,465.84 and the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.6 per cent to 21,993.71. The Nasdaq composite added 1.3 per cent to 6,340.23.
THE QUOTE: “Investors have once again stepped in, in search of returns, as the tensions surrounding North Korea seemingly dissipated. While the clearance of event risk remains a debate, it certainly does clear the air for other key event to shape market in the latter half of the week,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.
ENERGY: U.S. crude oil added 2 cents to $47.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.23 to $47.59 a barrel in New York Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 4 cents to $50.77 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.35 yen from 109.57 yen late Monday in Asia. The euro fell to $1.1743 from $1.1816.
