Asian Stock Market: BOJ, Aussie jobs add to Biden-backed bull run

• Shares in Asia-Pacific jumped to record tops as Joe Biden becomes 46^th US President.
• Stimulus hopes join expectations of faster vaccinations to bolster market moves.
• BOJ stood pat, Australian Unemployment Rate dropped below forecast in December.
• ECB, Biden’s first full day in the White House eyed.

Asian equities welcome Joe Biden with fresh all-time highs during early Wednesday. Not only the hopes of further stimulus from the Democratic government but expectations that there will be multiple varieties of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines also favored the risks.

Against this backdrop, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gains 0.70% to mark a fresh all-time high above the 900 threshold.

While following the mood, also taking clues from Australia’s December employment data and Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy meeting, stocks in Australia and Japan mark nearly 1.0% gains by press time. That said, Australia’s Unemployment Rate dropped to the lowest since May 2020 and the BOJ matched wide market forecasts of announcing no change in current policy despite downgrading economic forecast.

Chinese equities are less happy with Biden as he is no different from Trump when it comes to rivalry with Beijing. Also taming the optimism could be China’s fresh sanctions over nearly 28 US diplomats. Furthermore, fears that the UK’s record death toll due to the virus is likely not to recede early exert additional pressure on the mood.

Moving on, Indonesia’s IDX Composite follow Chinese friends and print mild losses ahead of the Bank Indonesia rate decision. Though, South Korea’s KOSPI gains 0.60% whereas India’s BSE Sensex crosses 50,000 mark while rising 0.60% by press time.

The rally in the Asian stocks also tracks Wall Street benchmarks to the north as S&P 500 refreshed record top and its Futures stay upbeat around the time of press. Though, the US 10-year Treasury yields stay sluggish near 1.080%.

Looking forward, reporters will keep taking rounds to Biden’s Oval Office for fresh updates during his first full day of work while the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy also becomes an important event.

Read: ECB Preview: Lagarde may trigger a “buy the dip” opportunity by trying to talk down the euro