Asian stocks gain as vaccine hopes push Wall Street to record highs

Asia stocks slowly rose into record territory on Tuesday, while oil gained after U.S. benchmarks were boosted by news of another promising COVID-19 vaccine.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.11% in early trade, following last session’s strongest level since it was launched in 1987.

The MSCI World Index of global shares also rose in Asia after hitting a record high on Monday. Hong Kong benchmark was up 0.1%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.23%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.2% after reaching a 29-year high in the previous day.

The upbeat sentiment in Asia stocks also helped oil prices hold onto Monday’s gains. U.S. oil stood at $41.36 per barrel, while Brent rose 0.3% on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields climbed on news of vaccine developments. The 10-year U.S. yield notes was at 0.9012% from Friday’s 0.893%.