Asia stocks higher after Wall Street gains on recovery hopes

Asian stock markets gained Wednesday as hopes for a global economic recovery rose after more governments eased anti-virus controls.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Southeast Asian markets followed Wall Street higher while Sydney declined. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

Investors are increasingly optimistic as European countries and some U.S. states allow businesses to reopen despite warnings coronavirus infections still are rising in areas such as Brazil and economic recovery could be some way off.

President Donald Trump, running for re-election in the midst of a slump that has thrown more than 20 million Americans out of work, said Tuesday he wants the U.S. economy to reopen but acknowledged some people will be “badly affected.”

Asked whether there might be deaths as curbs ease, Trump told ABC News, “It’s possible there will be some.”

“The view that the benefit outweighs the costs had invited the market to largely shrug off the concerns here,” despite Trump’s “acknowledgement of more fatalities,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3% to 2,869.70 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.2% to 24,150.66. The Kospi in Seoul was 1.5% higher at 1,924.63 and India's Sensex opened up 1.3% at 31,868.02.

Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 5,388.90. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Singapore advanced while Jakarta declined. Bangkok was closed for a holiday.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.9% higher on Tuesday after losing about half its early gains in a burst of afternoon selling. Technology and health care stocks accounted for much of the gains, which followed a strong showing in overseas markets.

Many analysts are skeptical of the rally. They say it is overdone given uncertainty about how long...