Asian equities mostly higher on Omicron variant

HONG KONG Reuters Asian share markets were trading in positive territory on Tuesday, as investors cautiously believed that the new Omicron variant might not cause widespread global economic disruption, as a result of the coronaviruses epidemic.

The higher open followed a brighter lead from Wall Street on Monday reacted to the news from U.S President Joe Biden that new lockdowns were at: www.reuters. com markets europe wall-street rebound after virus-linked sell-off 2021 -- 11 -- 29 as a result of the variant were off the table for now.

The broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.52% higher on Tuesday.

In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 was up 1.15%, while Japan's Nikkei was trading 1.2% higher early in the session.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.25%, while China's blue chip CSI 300 index was up 0.13%.

As authorities tried to contain the latest outbreak, activity in China's services sector grew at a slightly slower pace in November, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.3 in November from 52.4 in October, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics NBS.

Following a virus-led sell down late last week, the Asian equities markets performed better after investors were concerned that the variant could cause further lock downs that could impede the economic recovery.

All my clients and colleagues were net buyers on Monday and today, said John Milroy, an adviser at Ord Minnett in Sydney.

There is a new variant, but unless there are renewed and widespread lockdowns the V-shaped recovery is intact, particularly in the U.S. Earnings forecasts are intact and households are flush with cash. Despite the positive open Tuesday, advisers say investors are cautious about the impact Omicron could have on trade, travel and economic activity.

The market has been jumping at shadows because of the number of unknowns about Omicron, said James Rosenberg, a Sydney-based financial advisor at EL&C Baillieu.

The market will always be susceptible to the occasional shakeout on news that could bring risk after such a strong run and with elevated valuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 236.6 points, or 0.68%, to 35,135. The S&P 500 gained 60.65 points, or 1.32%, to 4,655. 27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 291.18 points, or 1.88%, to 15,782. The yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury notes was 1.5192% in Asian trading compared to its U.S. close of 1.529% on Monday.

The two-year yield, which is expected to rise with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, rose to 0.502% compared to a U.S. close of 0.51%.

Gold fell by 0.7% to $1,783 as a result of other markets firming. 1 per ounce was in the U.S. session but went up slightly higher early in Asia to be neutral.

U.S. crude jumped by 1.43% to $70.95 a barrel. The price of crude rose to $74.4 per barrel.