Investing.com - Asian stocks gained in morning trade on Thursday as major indices on Wall Street surged overnight following the U.S. election results.
Democrats won control of the House of Representatives while Republicans retained their hold on the Senate, as the U.S. midterm election's outcome split Congress.
"With trade tensions to the fore over recent months and risk currencies in the spotlight, the U.S. Mid-Terms were being seen through the prism of whether the outcome might embolden the President to go harder on trade or in effect if the elections would clip his wings," David de Garis, a director and senior economist at National Australia Bank, said in a morning note.
"With the Democrats gaining control over the House, the latter scenario now might be a little more likely," said de Garis.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would work with Democrats on policy initiatives in order to promote economic growth.
Overnight, the Dow jumped more than 540 points to close at 26,180.3, the S&P 500 surged 2.1% and the NASDAQ Composite advanced 2.6%.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component traded 0.5% and 0.4% higher by 9:10 PM ET (01:10 GMT). The country’s October import and export data are set for release sometime in the day.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.8%.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.5% as index heavyweight Samsung (KS:005930) revealed a smartphone that can fold in half at the Samsung Developer Conference 2018 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Trump said a scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and North Korean official Kim Yong Chol is being rescheduled, but added that he expects to meet leader Kim Jong Un early next year.
Trump noted sanctions against North Korea remain in full effect.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 was up 0.5%.
Looking forward, traders are likely to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve decision due later today for any pointers on the future policy outlook in 2019.