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Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Tuesday morning, with U.S. counterparts ending on another record high over optimism that the global economic recovery can weather the risks posed by COVID-19 and tightening monetary policy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.10% by 9:06 PM ET (2:06 AM GMT), with data released earlier in the day saying that industrial production grew a better-than-expected 7.2% month-on-month in November. The data also said that the jobs/application ratio was 1.15, while the unemployment rate was 2.8%, in November.
South Korea’s KOSPI inched up 0.04%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.25%, re-opening after a holiday while Australian markets remained shut.
China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.01% while the Shenzhen Component was up 0.39%.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 posted its 69th record close for 2021, although volumes were lower than average due to the holidays.
Meanwhile, a U.S. index of Chinese stocks fell, taking its 2021 losses past 44% over China’s latest regulatory tightening. This includes new curbs on offshore listings by firms in sectors where foreign investment is prohibited, which aims to plug a loophole long used by the tech industry to raise capital overseas.
Global shares are set for a third year of double-digit returns, boosted by the U.S. rally. These gains come despite persistent waves of COVID-19 cases, the latest including the omicron variant, and central banks tightening monetary policy in response to high inflation.
However, concerns remain that those variables could lead to increasing volatility.
“The remedies that we put in place to counter the COVID-19 recessions, they were so substantial, we had massive stimulus,” Whittier Trust chief investment officer Sandip Bhagat told Bloomberg.
“We’ll be left with a legacy of those policy responses well into the future” and stocks can continue advancing, he added.
Investors also digested comments from the People’s Bank of China that reiterated that the yuan exchange rate will be more flexible in 2022 and will remain stable overall at a reasonable and balanced level. The central bank added that it will ensure the overall size of credit keeps growing in 2022.
All eyes are also on China Evergrande Group (HK:3333) as it faces the initial interest payment deadline for two of its dollar bonds Tuesday. The property group now faces its biggest test of investor confidence after being labelled a debt defaulter earlier in the month.
