MANILA, Philippines -- Asian shares mostly gained on Thursday after U.S.stocks settled near their records and U.S.
President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill, ending the record 43-day shutdown.U.S.
futures edged higher with the prospect of a reopening of the federal government Thursday following the shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.“The shutdown had blocked not just spending, but also delayed a raft of federal economic data,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary, adding that “for markets, the only line that matters is simple: the lights are coming back on.”Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 51,213.35.Market heavyweight and tech giant SoftBank Group lost another 3.4% on top of a 3.5% drop on Wednesday after the company said it had sold all of its shares in computer chip maker Nvidia.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.3% to 27,009.65, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.7% to 4,029.50 as mainland stocks climbed ahead of updates on lending in China.Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,753.40, falling for a third straight session as hopes for near-term interest rate cuts were quashed by strong jobs data that showed unemployment falling to 4.3% in October from 4.5% in September.South Korea's Kospi fluctuated between gains and losses, rising 0.6% to 4,176.44 in afternoon trading.Taiwan's Taiex index gained nearly 0.2% while India's BSE Sensex added 0.3%.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 6,850.92, near its all-time high set a couple weeks ago.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7% to set a record for the second straight day, closing at 48,254.82.
The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3% to 23,406.46.Shares in airlines jumped on expectations of a recovery in air travel following the end of the shutdown.Advanced Micro Devices led the market, gaining 9% after its CEO,...