asian markets were largely positive wednesday, following a record close in the u.s. the s&p/asx 200 was up 1.3%, hong kong<u+2019>s hang seng index closed flat and south korea<u+2019>s kospi gained 0.2%. japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. the dow jones industrial average on tuesday closed above 19000 for the first time . while traders initially reacted badly to the prospect of a donald trump presidency<u+2014>particularly in asia, given his disdain for free-trade pacts <u+2014>investors are coming around to his aggressive stimulus plans. <u+201c>the overriding sentiment is that [initial] misgivings about a trump presidency are being offset by expectations that he has proposed a fiscal stimulus,<u+201d> said ric spooner, chief market analyst at cmc markets in sydney. mr. trump has promised to increase spending on infrastructure , which could lift global prices for steel and cement, as well as demand for other commodities, especially copper, mr. spooner said. in australia, miners bhp billiton and rio tinto rose 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively; in korea, steelmaker and miner posco added 1.7%. u.s. homebuying activity was up in october for the second straight month to a new high, according to the national association of realtors, with sales of previously owned homes rising at the strongest pace since february 2007. that has increased interest in materials and commodities stocks in asia. chinese steel stocks rose, and on the dalian commodity exchange iron-ore futures surged 9%, making the daily maximum gain for the second day in a row. steel rebar futures rallied 4.5% in shanghai. the shanghai composite closed down 0.2% even as sinking bond yields make equities more attractive. margin loans<u+2014>which investors use to buy stocks<u+2014>hit a 10-month high tuesday, signaling that equities appetite is picking up sharply in china. <u+201c>the slide in bond yield and lack of alternative investment channels prompt some investors to consider stocks again, as the market has stabilized largely since last year<u+2019>s plunge,<u+201d> said zhou xu, an analyst at nanjing securities. asian currencies continued their slide wednesday, indicating that offshore funds were still pulling money from the region in favor of the u.s., where yields are rising. the philippine peso wednesday brushed against an eight-year low against the u.s. dollar, falling about 0.1% for the day. it has dropped 2.7% since nov. 8, when mr. trump won the presidential election. <u+201c>the stance of the monetary policy towards higher interest rates in the u.s. is aiding the dollar,<u+201d> said jose vistan, head of research at ab capital securities in manila. politics is also a factor, he added. philippine president rodrigo duterte has amped up his rhetoric against the west, raising apprehensions among investors about the once-solid western ally. the dollar also gained 0.5% against the malaysian ringgit and 0.3% against the korean won in asian trade wednesday. in hong kong, shares in ct environmental group fell 13% after short-selling specialist glaucus research put out a report alleging the chinese water-treatment company was <u+201c>materially misrepresenting<u+201d> its financials. sasha zhang, ct environmental<u+2019>s head of investor relations, called the report <u+201c>totally nonsense<u+201d> and said the company is preparing a formal response. elsewhere, malaysia<u+2019>s central bank left interest rates unchanged wednesday. a slide in the ringgit following a trump-driven surge in the dollar has crimped its ability to cut rates. <u+201c>the degree of monetary accommodativeness is consistent with the policy stance to ensure that the domestic economy continues on a steady growth path,<u+201d> bank negara malaysia said in a press statement. it expects inflation in 2017 to remain stable, given low energy and commodity prices. <u+2014>yifan xie, jasper moiseiwitsch, yantoultra ngui, anna louie sussman and ese erheriene contributed to this article. write to kenan machado at kenan.machado@wsj.com
asian shares float on u.s. buoyancy  - wsj
kenan machado