Asia stocks soar as US announces coronavirus stimulus deal

 Asia Pacific stocks soared on Wednesday after a massive coronavirus stimulus bill was struck between the White House and Senate stateside.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan led gains among major markets in the region, adding 8.04% to close at 19,546.63 as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 8.78%. The Topix index rose 6.87% to end its trading day at 1,424.62.

South Korea’s Kospi also saw robust gains as it jumped 5.89% to close at 1,704.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained about 3.4%, as of its final hour of trading.

Mainland Chinese stocks advanced on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 2.17% to about 2,781,59 while the Shenzhen composite rose 2.919% to approximately 1,714.86.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 jumped 5.54% to close at 4,998.10 as the sectors mostly rose, with the heavily weighted financial subindex gaining 8.67% as shares of major banks advanced.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 4.26%.

The moves in the region came as the White House and Senate reached a deal on a gigantic $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill early Wednesday stateside.

“At last we have a deal,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell . “In effect, this is a war-time level of investment into our nation.”