Stocks in Asia make upward thrust, greenback falters again

Lola Evans
21 Jan 2021, 16:43 GMT+10

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 123.40 points or 0.43 percent to 28,756.86.
The Australian All Ordinaries climbed 56.10 points or 0.80 percent to 7,107.10.
The Hong Kong key index, the Hang Seng broke through the 30,000 barrier.

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Shares in Asia followed their U.S. counterparts on Thursday, rising into the stratosphere.

the Hong Kong key index, the Hang Seng broke through the 30,000 barrier, but was unable to sustain that level, closing down 34.71 points or 0.12 percent at 29,927.76.

China's Shanghai Composite gained 38.17 points or 1.07 percent to3,621.26.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 123.40 points or 0.43 percent to 28,756.86.

The Australian All Ordinaries climbed 56.10 points or 0.80 percent to 7,107.10.

With Joe Biden now in the White House, and the Democrats controlling the Senate it "increases not just the probability of more fiscal (stimulus), but the magnitude," Kay Van-Petersen, global macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets told Reuters Thomson Thursday.

"That means that this market should be way, way, way higher as a whole and we're going to get there. We're entering this regime of even more accelerated asset class inflation," Van-Petersen said.

While shares moved higher in Asia, so did the local and international currencies. The U.S. dollar was being crushed across the board.

The euro strengthened to 1.2134. The British pound advanced to 1.3705. The Japanese yen jumped to 103.40. The Swiss franc cruised up to 0.8885.

The Canadian dollar firmed to 1.2616. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7771. The New Zealand dollar was sharply higher at 0.7206.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite shot up 260.07 points or 1.97 percent to 13,457.25.

The Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 52.94 points or 1.39 percent to 3,851.85.

The Dow Jones index gained 257.86 points or 0.83 percent to 31,188.38.

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