SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher in Tuesday morning trade, following gains overnight stateside that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closing at records on their first trading day of 2022.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan climbed 1.35% in morning trade, with the Topix index gaining 1.26%. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.47%. Shares in Japan and Australia started their trading year on Tuesday following a Monday holiday.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.64% higher.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 246.76 points to 36,585.06 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.64% to 4,796.56. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.2% to 15,832.80.
China economic data
Looking ahead, a private survey on Chinese factory activity in December is set to be out on Tuesday, with the Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index expected at 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for December, released last week, showed an acceleration in growth of Chinese factory activity that month. The official manufacturing PMI for December came in at 50.3 from November’s reading of 50.1.
PMI readings are sequential and represent month-on-month expansion or contraction.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.213. That compared against levels below 96 seen recently.
The Japanese yen traded at 115.30 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 114.9 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7196, lower than levels above $0.726 seen yesterday.
