GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares jump on U.S. stimulus, Japan's Nikkei at 29-yr high

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Asian shares jumped on Tuesday,
with Japanese stocks hitting a 29-year high, as hopes that a
long-awaited U.S. pandemic relief package would be expanded and
a Brexit trade deal supported investor risk appetites.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 leapt 0.9% to its highest since March
1991, while Australian shares .AXJO climbed 0.7% and futures
for the S&P 500 ESc1 added 0.3%.
The U.S. House of Representatives had voted earlier to
increase stimulus payments to qualified Americans to $2,000 from
$600, sending the measure on to the Senate for a vote.
While it is not clear how the measure will fare in the
Senate, President Donald Trump's signing on Sunday of a $2.3
trillion pandemic bill, which included the $600 payments, had
sent shares on Wall Street to record highs overnight as it
increased optimism about an economic recovery. .N
"With the Brexit...and the U.S. stimulus deal now in the
rear-view mirror, there is a sense of relief that we have
avoided the respective worst-case scenarios," said Stephen
Innes, chief global market strategist at Axi, a broker.
Firmer demand for riskier assets kept the U.S. dollar, which
is often seen as a "safe-haven" asset, on the back foot. It was
down 0.02% against a basket of major currencies.
Shorting the dollar has been a popular trade recently and
calculations by Reuters based on data released by the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission on Monday suggested this could
endure. Short positions on the dollar swelled in the week ended
Dec. 21 to $26.6 billion, the highest in three months.
Sterling GBP=D3 softened to $1.3462 as investors continued
to take profits in the currency following the confirmation last
week of a trade UK-EU trade deal that was widely expected.
A sluggish dollar bolstered gold prices XAU= , which rose
0.4% to $1,878.76 an ounce. GOL/
Oil prices recovered a touch after falling overnight on
concerns that new travel restrictions on the back of the
COVID-19 pandemic would weaken fuel demand, and as the prospect
of increased supply dragged on prices. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 was up 0.48% to $47.85 a barrel.

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