Asian stocks climb, eyes turn to Fed data

Asian stocks continued their upward trajectory on Tuesday, gaining 0.8 per cent, fueled by gains on Wall Street and anticipation surrounding earnings reports from US tech giants, as reported by Reuters.

However, a strong dollar and lingering concerns about future Federal Reserve policy cast a shadow of uncertainty.

Building on Monday’s one per cent rise, the broader MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan (excluding Japan) rose another 0.8 per cent.  Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.3 per cent.

This uptick was driven by a 1.1 per cent jump in Taiwanese shares and a robust 1.8 per cent surge in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index.

Tech shares across the region also performed well, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. rallying two per cent.

This positive sentiment followed a strong session on Wall Street, where major technology companies like Nvidia (up 4.4 per cent), Amazon (up 1.5 per cent), and Alphabet (up 1.4 per cent) outperformed the market ahead of their quarterly earnings reports scheduled for later this week.

Tesla, however, bucked the trend, dropping 3.4 per cent after announcing price cuts in major markets.

Oil prices saw a modest recovery after recent losses, as brent futures rose 0.4 per cent to $87.34 a barrel, while US crude gained 0.4 per cent to $82.25 a barrel, meanwhile the investors cautiously monitoring the situation in the Middle East.

Gold prices, however, dipped 0.8 per cent as safe-haven demand subsided.