The Asian stock markets are expected to open higher again on Wednesday due to optimism that the European Central Bank will unveil additional measures to address the ongoing debt crisis following the release of disappointing economic data from the region.
In particular, the Italian economy remained stuck in recession in the second quarter as austerity measures weighed heavily on economic activity. The fourth successive contraction has raised concerns about the ability of the government to bring order to its public finances.
Also generating interest were comments by Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren, who called for an "open-ended" quantitative easing program to boost economic growth.
The major U.S. averages pulled back off their best levels of the day but remained firmly positive on Tuesday. The Dow rose 51.09 points or 0.4 percent to finish at 13,168.60, while the NASDAQ jumped 25.95 points or 0.9 percent to end at 3,015.86 and the S&P 500 advanced 7.12 points or 0.5 percent at 1,401.35.
The major European markets were mostly higher on Tuesday as the DAX of Germany climbed by 0.71 percent and the CAC 40 of France gained 1.52 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose by 0.56 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland fell by 0.08 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly higher on Tuesday as India surged 1.08 percent, while Japan's Nikkei gathered 0.88 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng collected 0.37 percent, China's Shanghai Composite added 0.13 percent, Taiwan rose 0.12 percent, South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.05 percent and Thailand gained 0.01 percent. Moving lower, Malaysia lost 0.51 percent, while Indonesia shed 0.49 percent and Singapore's Straits Times eased 0.13 percent.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.