Asian shares follow Wall Street gains as U.S. stimulus brings new hopes

Asian shares continued to rally on Wednesday with Wall Street recovering from major losses as U.S. Congress drew near to rolling out a $2 trillion stimulus package in a response to aid a virus-hit economy.

MSCI’s broadest index of Pacific Asia outside of Japan advanced by 1.7%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei soared by 4.8%.  Shares in South Korea gained 3.5% while Australian shares jumped up to 3.5%.

MSCI on Tuesday showed an 8.39% surge, marking it as the biggest gain in a day since the 2008 financial crisis. In Asia, it inched up by an additional 0.8% on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also climbed up by 11.37%, a record single-day peak since 1993.

However, the U.S. S&P500 index remained at 27% below its record highs in February.

The U.S. Congress said on Tuesday they were closing in on an agreement for a $2 trillion stimulus package in order to soften the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, there were no details about their availability to vote on a bill.