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SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks traded higher on Tuesday morning as investors await remarks from US President-elect Joe Biden’s candidate for Treasury secretary Janet Yellen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.96% while the Topix index rose 0.46%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.11%.
Australian stocks also posted gains, with the S & P / ASX 200 rising around 1%.
The largest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan traded 0.13% higher.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Yellen is set to tell the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that the government must “act big” with its next Covid relief plan, according to Reuters, which cited an opening statement prepared for its hearing before the commission.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yellen should make it clear that the United States is not looking for a weaker dollar.
On the coronavirus front, the head of the World Health Organization warned on Monday of a “catastrophic moral failure” due to unfair vaccine deployments.
Markets in the United States were closed Monday for a holiday.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.765 – higher than levels below 90.4 seen last week.
The Japanese yen was at 103.68 to the dollar, even stronger than levels above 104.1 against the greenback seen the previous trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.769, below levels above $ 0.775 seen at the end of last week.
– This article has been updated to accurately reflect the movements of the S & P / ASX 200 in Australia.
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