SINGAPORE — Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday, tracking gains seen in other major Asia-Pacific markets as Wall Street touched highs.
Meanwhile, oil stocks in the region jumped on the back of higher oil prices.
The Shanghai composite rose 0.21%, while the Shenzhen component was up 0.13%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was slightly below the flatline.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.54%, while the Topix jumped 0.83%. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.25%.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.6%.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times index dipped 0.41%.
Singapore’s trade and industry ministry said Wednesday that the economy grew 14.7% in the second quarter compared to a year ago, better than official advance estimates of a 14.3% expansion. The country also expects its economy to grow between 6% and 7% in 2021, an upgrade from past projections of 4% to 6%.
Energy stocks gain on higher oil prices
New records on Wall Street
Stocks on Wall Street shot to new records, boosted by the Senate’s passing of a $1 trillion infrastructure package.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.82 points to 35,264.67 to close at a record. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,436.75 and closed at a fresh all-time high.
The Senate’s infrastructure plan, which includes $550 billion in new spending on transportation and broadband, is expected to help give the economy a boost as peak growth slows following the reopening from the pandemic.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, rose to 93.083, from levels above 92.9 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.63, weaker than levels around 110.4 the day before.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7341, a touch higher than levels above $0.733 seen yesterday.
— CNBC’s Yen Nee Lee, Maggie Fitzgerald and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC