Asian shares extend gains on global optimism, vaccine hopes

Asian shares advanced on Tuesday, lifted by the economic recovery, vaccine rollouts and signs that new coronavirus cases may be abating. US markets were closed Monday for Washington's Birthday, a national holiday. Shanghai was still closed for the Lunar New Year. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.3 per cent to finish at 30,467.75, after closing the day before above 30,000 for the first time since August 1990. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 1.9 per cent to 30,746.66. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5 per cent to 3,161.78, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7 per cent to 6,917.30. Despite data that show regional economies have been hit hard by the pandemic, investors are still sending indexes ever higher. Analysts think Asian shares will continue to rally, cheered by the recent gains on the US and European markets. Hopes for a recovery are being driven partly by the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, said Prakash Sakpal, senior economist Asia at ING. Gains will still likely be capped

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