SINGAPORE Shares of Asia-Pacific rose largely in Tuesday morning trade after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged to a record closing high, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.65% in morning trading as shares of Chinese tech companies listed in the city shot up: Tencent rose 3.32 percent, Meituan increased nearly 7%, and Alibaba climbed 4.34%. The Hang Seng Tech index grew 3.38%.
Stocks in mainland China were higher due to the Shanghai composite rising 0.65%, while Shenzhen rose 0.361%.
Reuters reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued new disclosure requirements for Chinese companies looking to list in New York as part of a push by investors to increase investor awareness about the risks involved.
Japan's Nikkei225 index gained 1.15% as Softbank Group shares surged by more than 2%. The Topix index grew by 1.18%. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.55%
The S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2% higher in Australia.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, outside Japan, traded at 1.16% more.
