Investing.com – Most Asian stocks rose on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said he did not believe the U.S. economy would slip back into recession, although joblessness would remain high for some time.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.15%; South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.82%; and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.18%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.28%, despite a disappointing report on Australian business confidence. Earlier in the day, National Australia Bank's business survey showed that Australian business confidence fell for a third straight month in May, as Europe's debt crisis cast a cloud over the global growth outlook.
But the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, shedding 0.05%.
Among stocks in focus, Japanese mobile phone operator Softbank Corp. rose 2.28% after it announced it would begin offering Apple's new iPhone in Japan exclusively later this month.
Meanwhile, in a question-and-answer session at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Bernanke said: “My best guess is that we’ll have a continued recovery, but it won’t feel terrific.”
The outlook for European markets was rosy: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a rise of 0.7%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.44%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated an increase of 0.71%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.34%.
Later in the day, two members of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee, Elizabeth Duke and Thomas Hoenig, were due to speak at public engagements. Traders were likely to scrutinize their comments for clues to shifts in future monetary policy.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.15%; South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 0.82%; and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.18%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.28%, despite a disappointing report on Australian business confidence. Earlier in the day, National Australia Bank's business survey showed that Australian business confidence fell for a third straight month in May, as Europe's debt crisis cast a cloud over the global growth outlook.
But the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, shedding 0.05%.
Among stocks in focus, Japanese mobile phone operator Softbank Corp. rose 2.28% after it announced it would begin offering Apple's new iPhone in Japan exclusively later this month.
Meanwhile, in a question-and-answer session at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Bernanke said: “My best guess is that we’ll have a continued recovery, but it won’t feel terrific.”
The outlook for European markets was rosy: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a rise of 0.7%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a gain of 0.44%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated an increase of 0.71%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.34%.
Later in the day, two members of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee, Elizabeth Duke and Thomas Hoenig, were due to speak at public engagements. Traders were likely to scrutinize their comments for clues to shifts in future monetary policy.