Shares jumped on Tuesday as sentiment was lifted by the launch of the U.S. Federal Reserve's corporate bond buying program and concerns about a second wave of global coronavirus infections eased.
Ciara Lee reports
Stimulus splurge restarts stocks rally
Global shares gained Tuesday (June 16).
The gains came as the U.S. Federal Reserve started up its corporate bond buying program.
And as worries which had rattled investors on Monday (June 15) about a second wave of infections eased slightly.
Data showed new cases in Beijing were down, as it banned high-risk people from leaving the capital.
Meanwhile the Fed said it would start purchasing corporate bonds on Tuesday in the secondary market.
It's one of several emergency facilities launched in the wake of the pandemic.
A flood of liquidity in the form of fiscal and economic stimulus, along with gradual re-openings of global economies, has sparked a sharp rally in recent weeks.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 3.2%, its biggest one-day gain since March 25th.
While Japan's Nikkei closed up nearly 5 percent.
European shares joined the rally, with major indexes rising in early deals.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 2.2%, recovering from a slump in the past few sessions Travel and leisure stocks surged 3.3%, led by a 5.7% jump in Cineworld after the British cinema operator said it expected all of its theatres to reopen by July.
Airline operator Lufthansa gained 4.8% after saying late on Monday it was seeking to strike agreements with worker representatives by June 22nd on how to make cuts equivalent to 22,000 full-time positions.
But some analysts are not convinced the rally has staying power, and predict further volatility.
Oil prices made marginal gains, reversing earlier losses.
Hopes for further cuts in crude supplies took the sting out of concerns over fuel demand in the event of a second wave.