Investing.com - Asian shares gained smartly on Tuesday as investors looked at the prospect of easier monetary policies in China, Japan and Australia.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.28%, while the Nikkei 225, jumped 1.61% and the Shanghai Composite gained 1.30%
The inflation outlook provides further room for easing if needed, the Reserve Bank of Australia said Tuesday in the minutes of its November board meeting at which it held rates steady at a record low 2%. Earlier, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Christopher Kent said that weak commodity prices and a slower China make predicting the next turns of the economic cycle difficult.
The Bank of Japan will issue its latests statement on Thursday with a fall in third quarter GDP weighing on the economy and possibly prompting central bank action. In China a policy response is expected as inflation remains in check and demand moderate.
Overnight, U.S. stocks surged more than 1% on Monday erasing some of their losses from last week's considerable sell-off, as energy stocks soared in the wake of Friday night's terrorist attacks in Paris.
In Monday's session, U.S. crude futures jumped as much as 3.25% above $42 a barrel, as investors reacted to reports of a series of French airstrikes against targets from the Islamic State in Syria over the weekend. At the same time, ISIS issued stark warnings against the U.S. and other countries that further attacks could be forthcoming against those taking part in strikes against Syria. A series of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris on Friday night claimed the lives of at least 132 people and wounded more than 350 others.
As geopolitical tensions intensify, oil prices generally spike amid stronger demand. Earlier this fall, the Islamic State occupied the Jazal oilfield northwest of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra to seize control of all of the nation's state-owned fields. Shares in Exxon Mobil Corporation (N:N:XOM) and Chevron Corporation (N:N:CVX) both closed Monday's session up by approximately 3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 237.77 or 1.38% to 17,483.01, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 56.74 or 1.15% to close at 4,984.62. The S&P Composite index also rose 30.15 or 1.49% to 2,053.19, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy, Telecommunications and Utilities sectors led, each gaining more than 1.5%.