Asia stocks jump as hopes of a coronavirus vaccine rise

Asia stocks  jumped on Tuesday as hopes rise on a potential coronavirus vaccine after a promising development from a Moderna trial.

South Korea’s surged 2.25% to close at 1,980.61, with shares of automaker Hyundai Motor skyrocketing 7.83%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 ended its trading day 1.49% higher at 20,433.45 as shares of robot maker Fanuc soared 3.99%. The Topix index also gained 1.83% to close at 1,486.05.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.06%, as of their final hour of trade, with shares of HSBC soaring about 3.5%. Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.81% to about 2,898.58 while the Shenzhen component gained 1.21% to 11,052.85.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.81% to close at 5,559.50.