In early European trade, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.27%, while German DAX futures and FTSE futures rose 0.14% and 0.21%, respectively. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.27%.
In Asia, the region’s main regional equity gauges climbed with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 1.3% at a two-week high, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild gains.
Australian shares rose 0.81% to a two-week high. Japan’s Nikkei stock index jumped 0.6%, boosted by heavyweight local technology stocks, though gains were contained by worries of a sluggish economic recovery due to slow vaccine rollouts in the country.
Chinese stocks in particular hit a 2-1/2-month high on financial services and consumer gains. The blue-chip CSI300 index jumped 2.58%, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.03%, reaching their highest levels since early March. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.43%.
· China's blue-chips see best day in 11 months on easing inflation fears, stronger yuan
Chinese shares saw a strong rally on Tuesday, with the blue-chip index posting its best day in nearly 11 months, as fears around inflation at home and abroad faded, and a stronger yuan helped boost foreign inflows into the A-share market.
The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 3.2% higher at 5,318.48, marking its highest level since March 8 and the best session since July 6, 2020. The Shanghai Composite Index added 2.4% to 3,581.34.
Leading the gains, the CSI300 consumer staples index and the CSI300 financials index advanced 4.5% and 3.9%, respectively.
· Huawei plans to launch new operating system for phones in June
China's Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) said it will launch its new Harmony operating system for smartphones on June 2, its biggest move yet aimed at recovering from the damage done by U.S. sanctions to its mobile phone business.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% to 446.44 points — an all-time high. The index surpassed its early-May peak of 446.19.
Germany’s DAX gained 0.8%, also hitting a record high after a long weekend, boosted by news that Europe’s largest residential property group Vonovia SE agreed to take over its rival Deutsche Wohnen for about 18 billion euros ($22 billion).
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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