By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stocks were up on Tuesday morning with an overnight boost in U.S. markets carrying over to Asia. But gains were capped by ongoing investor worries over the U.S. economic recovery from COVID-19.
The ongoing fight could see U.S. Federal Chairman Jerome Powell extending near-zero rates for longer, and the Fed is widely expected to continue its dovish stance as it convenes on Wednesday.
But the U.S. is not the only country battling new outbreaks of COVID-19, with Hong Kong, Australia, Spain and Germany some of the locations dealing with a renewed spike in cases. Global COVID-19 deaths topped 650,000, with the number of cases topping 16.4 million as of July 28, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
“The reality is that the Fed has proclaimed that they are going to keep the printing presses rolling, they will print money and it has created this all-you-can eat buffet. The bottom may be in for the year, but we do expect volatility in the future,” Terri Spath, Sierra Investment Management’s chief investment officer, told Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Republicans unveiled their latest $1 trillion stimulus package on Monday, and investors are watching to see whether a compromise between the Republican plan and the Democrats $3.5 trillion plan can be reached before some earlier measures expire at the end of the week.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.36% by 11:23 PM ET (4:23 AM GMT) and Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.02%.
Down Under, the ASX 200 gained 0.21%. But with COVID-19 sending the country into a recession for the first time in 30 years, the upcoming reporting session is expected to be one of the worst on record.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 0.32%, even after the government announced unprecedented social distancing measures to curb record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the city.
The measures will be enforceable from Wednesday and include limiting public gatherings to two people and an all-day ban in dine-in services at restaurants.
China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.46% and the Shenzhen Component jumped 1.54%. But U.S.-China tensions continue to simmer over issues such as Hong Kong’s national security law, Chinese claims in the South China Sea and trade. The latest Chinese Customs Administration data showed that China has only bought around 23% of the more than $170 billion goods purchase target for the year set in the phase one trade deal signed between the two nations in January.