Asian Stocks go Up, Optimism Ahead After Biden Inauguration

Stocks in the Asia Pacific were up Thursday morning. They rose for a third consecutive session as Joe Biden was inaugurated. Their U.S. counterparts charted a path, closing at records, and which they followed.   

In the previous session, the S&P 500 posted its best first-day reaction to a presidential inauguration. This was so far from 1937.

By 9:14 PM ET (2:14 AM GMT), China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.40% . The Shenzhen Component gained 1.07%. 

The country began imposing sanctions on officials in the Trump administration, including former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

U.S.-Chinese tensions are unlikely to ease as hoped for by Chinese officials. However, they still called for co-operation with the new Biden administration.

Furthermore, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has locked the Chinese embassy to the U.S’ official Twitter account. It cited a violation of its ‘dehumanization’ policy.

Stocks on the Move

The following also filed a request with the New York Stock Exchange. They were China Mobile Ltd (HK:0941), China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. (NYSE:CHU), and China Telecom Corp Ltd (NYSE:CHA).

The request was for a review of the decision to delist the Chinese company’s stocks from the bourse. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.05%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.78%. Later in the day, the Bank of Japan will hand down its policy decision.

South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.68%, and Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.71%.

Moreover, the new administration promised more economic support and federal effort to get more vaccines to more Americans. This boosted stocks despite wobbles in vaccine distribution along with rising COVID-19 infection rates.

After the inauguration, Biden signed 15 executive actions on Wednesday. Among other issues, it covers COVID-19, climate change, and immigration, stating “these are just all starting points.”

However, Secretary of the Treasury nominee Janet Yellen encountered early Republican resistance to Biden’s $.1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. It was during her Senate confirmation hearing.

In Germany, there has been a record number of daily COVID-19 deaths. A variant of the virus was seen in South Africa. A study of this variant raised questions about the efficacy of the vaccines currently available.

Furthermore, the European Central Bank (ECB) will also hand down its policy decision later in the day.

Meanwhile, EU stock markets are opening higher on Thursday. Cautious optimism followed the inauguration of the 46th U.S. President and ahead of the latest ECB policy meeting.

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