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Asian Markets, US Futures on the Rise


A man wearing face mask walks past a bank electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
A man wearing face mask walks past a bank electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Signs that more nations are slowly but steadily emerging from coronavirus lockdowns sent Asian markets soaring Tuesday.

The Nikkei index in Tokyo closed 2.5% higher, while Hong Kong’s benchmark index earned 2.1% by late afternoon. The S&P/ASX in Sydney was up 2.9%, Shanghai had gained 0.8%, Seoul’s KOSPI index was 1.6% higher, and Taiwan’s TSEC index was up 1.1%.

Oil markets are also riding high Tuesday, with U.S. crude selling at $34.49 per barrel, up 3.7%, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, selling at $36.30 per barrel, up 3.3%.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all trading over 2% in futures trading, indicating a good opening for Wall Street as it returns from a long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Investor optimism is on the rise again with Japan lifting a nearly two-month state of emergency for Tokyo, which was briefly extended nationwide, along with a promise from China’s central bank to push down borrowing costs and “support development of the real economy.”

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