After a three-day shutdown, U.S. legislators passed a measure that will provide funding for the U.S. government until February 8. The short-term measure was confirmed by President Trump and provides lawmakers 17 days to come to an agreement regarding immigration reform, the key issue that lead to the shutdown. All three Wall Street indexes closed higher on Monday, and Asian indexes followed higher on Tuesday on renewed optimism.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.19 percent as of 1:45 p.m. HK/SIN, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.34 percent. Australia’s ASX was 0.75 percent higher, and the Shanghai Composite was up 0.76 percent in mid-afternoon trade.
Currency Movements
Despite positive signs in the stock market, the U.S. dollar remained near three-year lows, struggling to head higher against its primary trading partners. The greenback was unchanged against the euro, holding at $1.2258, and was down 0.10 percent against the yen to 110.80. The dollar index was steady at 90.39 .DXY, near the three-year low of 90.104 hit last week.
Earlier on Tuesday the Bank of Japan held interest rates steady as expected, though it did announce some policy tweaks that hinted to a more optimistic central bank view. The BOJ changed its assessment on prices from “weak” to “stable”, a move prompted by the recent rise in oil prices.
Oil prices were higher on Tuesday, buoyed by continued cutbacks by Russia and OPEC coupled with cold weather that has increased global demand. U.S. WTI futures were up 0.61 percent to $63.96 per barrel while Brent crude futures gained 0.52 percent to trade at $69.39 per barrel.