SHANGHAI: Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday after a record-setting session on Wall Streeton bets that U.S. lawmakers would pass a major tax overhaul.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent.
Wall Street hit record highs on Monday on growing optimism about lower corporate tax rates as the Republican tax bill moved closer to passage.In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s stock market surged on Monday as cement firms climbed. The Saudi stock index surged 1.4 percent in active trade. Five of the 10 most heavily traded shares and six of the 10 top gainers were cement firms, with Najran Cement jumping 6.0 percent after a 4.5 percent gain on Sunday.
In Dubai, the index was flat in very quiet trade. Abu Dhabi climbed 1.1 percent as ADNOC Distribution, which listed last week after an initial public offer of shares at 2.50 dirhams, was the most heavily traded stock and climbed 2.6 percent to 2.74 dirhams.
Egypt’s blue-chip index was almost flat. Alexandria Mineral Oils climbed 5.5 percent.
In commodities, oil markets were little changed on Tuesday, with unplanned outages and voluntary production restraint led by OPEC supporting prices, while soaring output in the United States capped crude.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.22 a barrel at 0108 GMT, up 6 cents from their last settlement.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $63.34 a barrel, down 7 cents from their last close.
In currencies, the dollar remained mired in its recent ranges on Tuesday, as optimism that the U.S. tax reform bill would pass duelled with concerns about what its ultimate effect on growth would be.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was steady on the day at 93.714.
Spot gold was little changed on Tuesday at $1,260.72 per ounce after climbing 0.5 percent the previous day on the sagging dollar.
In other news, average yields on Egypt’s five- and 10-year treasury bonds fell at an auction on Monday, central bank data showed.
