Asian shares hit four-month high on persistent market optimism

Asian shares recorded a four-month high on Wednesday brought by investors’ upbeat outlook for the global economy’s resumption. Meanwhile, investors’ sentiment grew even as cases of the novel coronavirus were seen reaching unprecedented levels.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.5%, reaching its strongest record since the virus crisis ravaged markets in early March.

South Korea led with a 1.6% increase, while Japan’s Nikkei was held flat by a firm yen. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 salvaged initial losses, gaining a total of 0.2%. EURO STOXX 50 futures shed 0.3%.

Updates regarding the virus crisis were hardly encouraging as several U.S. states monitored an upsurge in new cases. More so, the death toll in Latin America breached 100,000 on Tuesday, a report from Reuters showed.