HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stocks rose Tuesday following another record day on Wall Street as investor optimism bounced back quickly after the Italian referendum.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.5 percent to 18,360.54 and South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.4 percent to 1,990.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8 percent to 22,676.55 while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1 percent higher to 3,207.19. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 percent to 5,428.70. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia also advanced.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: "The markets appear to have come to the realization that the concerns paid to the Italian referendum may be too much or too early," said Jingyi Pan of IG Markets in Singapore. "Relief rally has become the favorite description for the overnight trend seen in both European and U.S. stock markets as traders tuned back to riskier assets."
SOUTH KOREAN RECKONING: Top business leaders were grilled by lawmakers over allegations that President Park Geun-hye allowed a corrupt confidante to pull government strings and extort companies. With Park facing possible impeachment, the Finance Ministry said it would "frontload" nearly 70 percent of government spending for 2017 to help boost the slowing economy. Shares jumped in response.
SERVICE SURVEY: Activity at U.S. services companies grew at its fastest pace last month in more than a year, according to a monthly survey of purchasing managers. The report, which found that production, hiring and new export orders all grew faster in November than the month before, is an encouraging sign for the broader U.S. economy, the world's largest.
WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks pushed higher and the Dow Jones industrial average set another record high, rising 0.2 percent to 19,216.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 0.6 percent to 2,204.71. The Nasdaq composite added 1 percent to 5,308.89. The U.S. rally erased any remaining pessimism following Italy's weekend referendum in which voters defeated proposed constitutional changes, triggering Premier Matteo Renzi's resignation. Investors are now looking ahead to the year's final market-moving event, next week's Fed meeting at which policymakers are expected to raise interest rates from ultralow levels.
ENERGY: The rally in oil prices petered out after four days of gains fueled by the OPEC deal to trim production. Benchmark U.S. crude futures lost 38 cents to $51.41 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 11 cents to $51.79 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 29 cents to $54.65 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 114.06 yen from 113.70 yen in Thursday's trading. The euro rose to $1.0751 from $1.0756.