Investing.com - Asian shares posted steady gains on Tuesday as Wall Street provided a solid lead on growing hopes for tax cuts in the U.S.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.96% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.29%. In Australia, RBA meeting minutes showed the central bank is nervously watching labor markets in other major economies, noting scant wage pressures even as full employment has been reached.
In minutes of its November 7 policy meeting, published Tuesday, the RBA board noted "that in most advanced economies, growth in wages and hourly earnings had been low, despite ongoing reductions in spare capacity."
"They discussed the possibility that globalization and technology were leading wage growth to be less responsive to changes in the demand for labor, which could continue for a while," the minutes said.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.40% and the Hang Seng index jumped 1.23%.
Overnight, Wall Street rallied on Monday, as a surge in telecoms and financials offset a slump in health care while uncertainty concerning the progress of U.S. tax reform limited gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23,430.33. The S&P 500 closed 0.13% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6790.71, up 0.12%.
In what was a quiet day on the calendar for top-tier economic data, investor focus remained on the progress of tax reform amid growing uncertainty whether the government can push through tax-reform before the end of the year.
The Senate is not expected to vote on their version of bill – which significantly differs from the Republican’s version – until after Thanksgiving, dampening prospect of tax-reform being passed before the year end as there is limited time left on the legislative calendar for this year.
Investor expectations of tax-reform has been one of major catalysts in the recent rally as it widely viewed as inflationary and is expected to boost economic growth.
The returned of risk-on sentiment comes against renewed geopolitical uncertainty in the Eurozone as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday, she would prefer new elections rather than lead a minority government after talks to form the country's next government collapsed overnight.
Energy, meanwhile, continued to weigh on the broader market amid pressure from falling oil prices as investors opted for caution ahead of the OPEC meeting on Nov. 30.