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Asian markets rally after Federal Reserve launches unlimited bond buying to shore up coronavirus-battered US economy

  • US Congress said close to deal over a relief package that has been valued between US$1.8 trillion and US$2.5 trillion
  • Most Asian markets finish broadly higher, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closing ahead 4.5 per cent

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People visit to see the flame for this year’s Tokyo Olympics exhibited in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, on Monday. Japan is under increasing pressuring to postpone the Olympic Games because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Kyodo
Deb Price,Gigi ChoyandLouise Moon
Asia-Pacific stocks rallied on Tuesday after the US Federal Reserve launched unlimited bond buying and took other steps while the US Congress appeared closer to a deal on a massive stimulus package to boost the world’s largest economy hammered by the coronavirus.
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After Monday’s negative start to the week, Asia stocks rose in the face of the latest death toll due to the spreading respiratory illness: more than 16,000 people have died around the globe, with the highest single tally in Italy, with more than 6,000 dead. Meanwhile, Hong Kong was among governments including the UK tightening rules to try to prevent transmission of the disease. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide are on some type of lockdown.

The world’s central banks and governments are throwing the kitchen sink at the virus, with an array of fiscal and monetary policy steps. But volatile stock exchanges from Hong Kong to New York have tanked in recent weeks, falling into bear markets. Among major stock exchanges, only China isn’t in a bear market.

The Hang Seng Index finished with a 4.5 per cent gain at 22,663.49.

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The high-turnover Tencent rose 4.9 per cent, while Alibaba Group Holding, the e-commerce giant that is the parent company of the South China Morning Post, advanced 2.6 per cent. SoftBank Group plans to sell US$14 billion in shares of Alibaba as it moves to raise US$41 billion to bolster its businesses hit by the pandemic, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
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