Asian Stock Market: Tracks S&P 500 Futures to north amid light feeds

• Asia-Pacific shares stays on the front foot as vaccine optimism joins mixed signals from Australia, China and Japan.
• Taiwan up over 3.0% but China bulls hesitate amid a light calendar.

Asian equities part ways from Wall Street while posting mild gains during early Tuesday. In doing so, traders cheer the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine optimism and hints of further easing from Australia and Japan to battle downbeat comments from China, also portray the risk-on mood.

RBA meeting minutes confirm no rate hike until 2024 while expecting upbeat inflation and economic recovery going forward. Policymakers also rejected yield curve control while showing readiness to alter the bond purchase program if needed. Against this backdrop, Australia’s ASX 200 rises 0.70% on a day by the press time.

Stocks in Taiwan benefit from talks about the US readiness to offer American authorized covid vaccine to the needy nations, China’s support to vaccine patent waiver and headlines from Moderna and Pfizer suggesting a capacity to tame Indian variant of the COVID-19).

Alternatively, China bears the burden of technology shares’ weakness as well as tussles with Australia and Taiwan whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumps 2.70% intraday even as Japan's Q1 GDP dropped below forecast.

Amid these plays, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rises 1.40% while S&P 500 Futures print 0.30% intraday run-up heading into Tuesday’s European session.

Read: S&P 500 Futures part ways from Wall Street's mild losses on mixed clues

It’s worth mentioning that the US dollar index stays pressured, which in turn helps gold to attack late January tops.

Moving on, vaccine headlines and chatters surrounding the Fed’s next move, amid reflation fears, could offer fresh impulse to markets ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC minutes.