TOKYO/NEW YORK- Asian shares advanced on Tuesday as prospects of a deal by European Union leaders to jointly fund recovery of their economies and hopes for a coronavirus vaccine lifted risk appetite.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6 percent while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5 percent to edge near its four-month peak hit earlier this month.
On Wall Street, tech shares jumped after several days in the doldrums, pushing the Nasdaq Composite up 2.51 percent to a record closing high on Monday. The S&P500 also hit a five-month peak.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures gained 0.25 percent in Asian trade to stand near their highest since early March.
European Union leaders appeared close to agreement on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-blighted economies, with EU Council President Charles Michel voicing confidence of reaching a deal on the 750 billion euro recovery fund.
“They are now discussing a compromise on how the fund will be distributed between grants and loans. The question is no longer whether we will have a fund or not,” said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, market strategist at Mizuho Securities.
“The US will likely adopt stimulus by the first week of August. We don’t know its exact size but I bet it will be something like $1 to $1.5 trillion.”
Advisers to President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats were set to discuss the next steps in responding to the coronavirus crisis on Tuesday.
Although coronavirus infections have surged in recent weeks in the country’s south and west, investors hope another economic package, which will come after $3 trillion in stimulus earlier this year, will help the economy tide over a difficult period.
