- Shares in Asia Pacific traded mixed Tuesday morning.
- An overnight rally stateside saw the S&P 500 erasing its losses and entering positive territory for the year.
- Shares of Samsung Group companies in South Korea were mixed in Tuesday morning trade. The moves came after a court in Seoul rejected an arrest warrant for the conglomerate’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, according to local news agency Yonhap.
Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed Tuesday morning after an overnight rally stateside that saw the S&P 500 erasing its losses and entering positive territory for the year.
Shares in Australia, which returned to trade following a Monday holiday, led gains in the region’s major markets as the S&P/ASX 200 soared 2.63%. Shares of major banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group soared at least 5% each.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.91% in early trade. Mainland Chinese stocks also edged higher, with the Shanghai composite up more than 0.1% while the Shenzhen component added 0.184%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.51% while the Topix index shed 0.36%. South Korea’s Kospi fell into negative territory as it dipped 0.16%..
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.76% higher.
Shares of Samsung Group firms mixed
Shares of Samsung Group companies in South Korea were mixed on Tuesday morning as they shed earlier gains. Industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.18% and Samsung Biologics rose 1.05%, while Samsung C&T dropped 1.32%.
Those shares of Samsung Group companies in South Korea will be watched on Tuesday after a court in Seoul rejected an arrest warrant for the conglomerate’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, according to local news agency Yonhap.
Previously jailed in 2017 after being found guilty of charges ranging from bribery to embezzlement before being released in February 2018, Lee is under investigation in relation to a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015, a move believed to help him take the reigns of the group from his father, Yonhap reported.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% to close at 3,232.39 — turning positive for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended its trading day on Wall Street 461.46 points higher, or 1.7%, to 27,572.44. The Nasdaq Composite also jumped 1.1% to close at 9,924.74, hitting a fresh record high and bringing its year-to-date gains to 10.6%.
Oil prices rise
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.54% to $41.43 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also advanced 1.49% to $38.76 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.693 after slipping from levels around 97 earlier.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.03 per dollar after strengthening sharply from levels above 109.2 yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7008, following an earlier high of $0.7042