TOKYO (AP) – Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday, encouraged by optimism on Wall Street as Hurricane Irma weakened and made way for recovery efforts and a North Korean holiday passed without new missile launches.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 percent to finish at 19,776.62, as a weaker yen also helped boosted sentiments. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.6 percent at 5,746.40, while South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,364.08. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up but was little changed at 27,960.40, while the Shanghai Composite lost nearly 0.1 percent to 3,373.62.
IRMA FEARS: Irma wreaked havoc along the entire Florida peninsula and was still dropping rain and causing power outages and some damage around the Southeast. But the storm had weakened considerably from its peak, relieving investors’ worries. Insurers and travel companies did well in U.S. markets Monday, while home improvement stocks declined on expectations of less business from storm repairs.
NORTH KOREA: Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have been on investors’ minds recently, but North Koreans observed the 69th anniversary of the country’s founding, but did not test another intercontinental ballistic missile, as South Korea’s government had warned it might.
THE QUOTE: “This morning’s announcement that the UN has agreed on more economic sanctions against North Korea has not phased markets,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst for CMC Markets in Sydney.