Asian markets built on a Wall Street rally Friday as geopolitical fears gave way to fresh hopes for Donald Trump's stimulus after his top finance man said a US tax reform plan would be released "very soon".
Global markets have taken a hit this month owing to concerns about US-Russia relations, tensions on the Korean peninsula and the president's failure to push through a key healthcare bill. But the risk-off mood was smothered after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the tax code overhaul promised by Trump was close. The reforms, along with promises for big infrastructure spending, were a key driver of a global equity rally since the tycoon's November election win.
The news was met with relief by Wall Street, with the Nasdaq leading a surge in all three main indexes and hitting a new record high. The dollar, which has struggled in recent weeks against the safe-haven yen, also broke out of its malaise, buying 109.34 yen from 109.31 yen in New York and well up from 108.80 yen in Asia Thursday.
Adding to the dollar bounce were comments from a top Federal Reserve official saying he expected the central bank to hike interest rates three times this year. Tokyo's Nikkei closed up one percent as exporters were boosted by the weaker yen and comments from Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that he would maintain a loose monetary policy, despite an improvement in the economy.
Sydney put on 0.6 percent, Seoul jumped 0.7 percent and Taipei 0.9 percent. There were also strong gains in Singapore and Manila.
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