Asian Stocks Up, Boosted by Commodity Rally, Record Finish in U.S. By Investing.com

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were up on Wednesday morning, starting the session strong thanks to a commodities rally and after U.S. counterparts recorded a strong end to the previous session.

Japan’s was up 0.36% by 9:45 PM ET (1:44 AM GMT).

South Korea’s was up 0.23%, with the handing down its latest policy decision on Thursday.

In Australia, the was up 0.28% and Hong Kong’s gained 0.66%.

China’s was up 0.22% and the rose 0.88%. As China continues to tighten regulations on various sectors, the said it will issue expanded disclosure requirements for the more than 250 Chinese companies currently trading on U.S. stock exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index jumped after JD (NASDAQ:).com Inc. (HK:) reported solid results on Tuesday, luring back investors such as Cathie Wood.

In the U.S., the and the closed at record highs, boosted after Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:) shares climbed up to 8% after reporting strong consumer demand.

Commodities markets also had a strong start to the day, with remaining above the $67-mark thanks to China’s report that it has stamped out its latest COVID-19 outbreak and easing fuel demand concerns. Iron ore was also on an uptick.

Investors now look to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, which will take place online from Aug. 26 to Aug. 28.

“As long as the economic and corporate earnings environments continue to improve, the market is likely to withstand ongoing concerns about the virus and policy. That said, risks for the market are becoming more balanced as we move throughout the market cycle,” New York Life Investments economist and portfolio strategist Lauren Goodwin told Bloomberg.

On the data front, U.S. were at 708,000 units, growing 1% month-on-month in July. More data is due out throughout the rest of the week, with the U.S. for the second quarter to be released on Thursday and the , along with personal and data, following on Friday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a $3.5. trillion budget resolution, paving the way for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda to move forward.