Asian shares advance; global economic recovery loses momentum

Asian share markets were mostly upbeat during their early Tuesday trade. This followed after investors gauged the diverging stages of different countries’ economic emergence from the coronavirus crisis.

Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei performed 2.14% higher as the country tallied a 5.1% year-on-year contraction in its GDP. South Korean shares hiked 1.14%, while Australian shares advanced 1.14%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 1.45% higher. China’s Shanghai Composite, on the other hand, rose 0.01%.

Apart from surging COVID-19 cases, investors’ focus was also on the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes of the meeting. This will then provide information regarding inflationary pressures and hints about the central bank’s next move for its policy rates.