Asian Stock Market: Brexit, US stimulus hopes entertain bulls amid holiday mood

• Asian equities print mild gains as market sentiment cheers Brexit breakthrough, US Democrats’ readiness for higher paycheck.
• China’s crackdown on Alibaba, virus woes in the UK gets a little response amid partial off in Australia, New Zealand.

Asian shares remain positive for the second consecutive day ahead of Thursday’s European session as optimism concerning Brexit and the US coronavirus (COVID-19) aid package lift the mood amid year-end holidays in some markets. Also on the positive side could be the comments from Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang.

Against this backdrop, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan prints 0.40% intraday gains while Japan’s Nikkei 225 copy the moves by press time. Also portraying the risk-on mood is 0.15% intraday gains by S&P 500 Futures.

Read: S&P 500 Futures stay below 3,700 even as Brexit deal, US stimulus become imminent

Banks in Australia and New Zealand are closed due to the Christmas Eve celebrations but their respective equity gauges, namely ASX 200 and NZX 50, rise 0.30% and 0.10% in that order to while following the general mood. It should also be noted that China’s readiness to ease trade tariffs for items that have a higher domestic demand as well as PBOC Governor Yi’s readiness to prioritizing currency stability also favored markets in Canberra and Wellington.

On the negative side, Beijing’s push to investigate the tech giant for alleged monopoly as well as the covid infection in Britain joins US President Donald Trump’s warning to Iran while testing the bulls.

Looking forward, markets in China may aim to recover initial losses while those from Indian and South Korea can try keeping gains ahead of the Brexit announcements, up for publishing early morning in Europe. Following that, US Congress updates and virus news can entertain traders ahead of Christmas.