Asia tracks Wall St rally as markets shrug at election limbo

Asian shares advanced Thursday after stocks rallied on Wall Street as investors embraced the upside of more gridlock in Washington, sending the S&P 500 index up 2.2% while the outcome of the U.S. presidential election remained in limbo.

Hong Kong's benchmark led the region, gaining 2.6%, while shares also rose by more than 1% in Tokyo and South Korea.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 2.2% for its best day in five months. The benchmark index had gained 3.5% before the market lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day.

The Nasdaq was the standout, notching its biggest gain in more than six months as traders doubled down on technology stocks that are seemingly immune to pandemic shocks that bring more and more activity online.

The S&P 500 rose 74.42 points to 3,443.44. The Dow added 1.3% to 27,847.66. The Nasdaq gained 3.9% to 11,590.78.

In Asia on Thursday, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was at 25,532.56 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index climbed 1% to 24,105.28. South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1% to 2,405.99. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 6,139.60. The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9% to 3,307.17.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, while the Dow industrials' future added 0.6%.

The fate of the U.S. presidency remained undecided as neither President Donald Trump or Democratic challenger Joe Biden had secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win by early Thursday. So far, the markets have acted as if the occupant of the White House might be a secondary concern.

“Notions that election uncertainty amid threat of a drawn out legal contest for the White House and Congressional gridlock (Democrat House-Republican Senate impasse) would have spooked markets couldn’t be further from the truth though," Mizuho Bank said in a...