Shares in Asia gain as investors eye continued easy monetary policies
Published Apr 20, 2015 11:23PM ET
Asian shares higher
Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Tuesday as investors focused on the prospect of continued easy monetary policies regionally following China's decision to cut the cash reserve ratio for banks.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.90%, while the Hang Seng index surged 2.04%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.43% and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.39%.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Technology, Utilities and Telecoms sectors led shares higher.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.17%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.92%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.27%.
Overnight, investors shrugged off downbeat data and figures on Friday showing that U.S. consumer prices were higher for a second successive month in March.
The consumer price index edged up 0.2% last month, matching a similar gain in February. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices dipped 0.1% in March after remaining flat in February.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs increased 0.2% in March for an annual increase of 1.8%, the largest since October.
In Europe concerns that Athens is no closer to reaching an agreement on economic reforms for baiout funds with its creditors, fueled fears that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone.
On Sunday, the People's Bank of China attempted to institute a floor on a two-day sell-off by lowering its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks by 1% from 19.5 to 18.5%.
The stimulus measure could release approximately one trillion yuan or $160 billion in liquidity, according to analysts. The sell-off began late last week when the Bank increased the volume of shares available to short sellers by clamping down on margin trading involving over-the-counter stocks.
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