Asian stocks got off to a strong start in Tuesday early trade, following a strong performance in U.S. markets overnight as tech shares turned in solid gains. Meanwhile, the pound jumped as British Prime Minister Theresa May managed to secure last minute support from the EU for her Brexit deal before it goes to a crucial vote on Tuesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.7 percent in early trade, with most sectors putting in strong gains. The broader Topix rose 1.48 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi was higher by 0.99 percent.
In Australia, the ASX 200 was up 0.43 percent with most sectors trading higher. Oil stocks put in a strong showing, with shares of Santos surging 2.21 percent, Oil Search up 1 percent, and Woodside Petroleum rising 1.25 percent. Following last week’s tumble, U.S. crude continued to recover this week, rising 0.33 percent on Tuesday morning to settle at $56.98. International benchmark Brent was up 0.33 percent to $66.80 a barrel.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 200.64 points higher at 25,650.88 after falling more than 200 points. The S&P 500 gained 1.47 percent to end the day at 2,783.30, led by a 2.17 percent jump in the tech sector. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.02 percent to 7,558.06.
That snapped a five-day losing streak on Wall Street. Better-than-expected U.S. retail sales numbers on Monday also gave a boost to confidence, after a raft of weak December data.
Monday’s moves come after the major indexes posted their worst weekly performances of 2019 amid growing concerns of a possible economic slowdown around the world.
After falling in the last eight sessions, the pound rose by as much as 1.1 percent and hit the day’s high of $1.317, according to Reuters, as chances Britain will leave the group without a deal had narrowed.
Senior minister David Lidington announced Monday that May had clinched “legally binding” changes to her Brexit deal in her bid to win last minute support.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major peers, traded at 97.050 as of 8:39 a.m. HK/SIN, climbing from levels below 97.000 in the previous week. The Japanese yen fetched 111.35 to the dollar as of 8:40 a.m. HK/SIN, strengthening from levels around 111.70 last week. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7061.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert and Reuters contributed to this story.
