Asian stocks rise on Wall Street optimism

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press</span>
Published Tuesday, January 9, 2018 12:06AM EST

TOKYO - Asian shares rose Tuesday, cheered by the upbeat mood on Wall Street and hopes for U.S. economic growth.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.5 per cent in morning trading to 23,843.70. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2 per cent to 6,142.10. South Korea's Kospi gained nearly 0.2 per cent to 2,517.57. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent to 30,993.36, while the Shanghai Composite inched up nearly 0.1 per cent to 3,411.05.

WALL STREET: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose to another record, for the fifth straight sessions, gaining 4.56 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,747.71. The last time the index led off a year with more consecutive gains was in 2010, when it had six. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 12.87, or 0.1 per cent, to 25,283.00, the Nasdaq composite rose 20.83, or 0.3 per cent, to 7,157.39 and the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks gained 1.80, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,561.81.

THE QUOTE: "A continuation of Monday's bullish glow look set for Asian markets into Tuesday with few data points to observe," says Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

KOREAS: The region is closely watching developments from talks between delegates from North Korea and South Korea, the first such talks in two years. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un recently made an abrupt push for improved ties with South Korea after a year of elevated tensions over his expanding nuclear and missile programs.

CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 112.63 yen from 113.13 yen late Monday. The euro fell to $1.1970 from $1.2032.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 48 cents to $62.21 a barrel. It rose 29 cents to settle at $61.73 per barrel Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 47 cents to $68.25 per barrel.

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