* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
SINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Asia's stock markets edged
higher on Tuesday, cautiously adding to gains made with an
improvement in both U.S. President Donald Trump's health and
prospects for a U.S. stimulus package, while bonds and the
dollar nursed losses.
Trump returned to the White House on Monday after a
three-night hospital stay for treatment for COVID-19 and said he
felt "real good". Meanwhile U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for about an hour and
were preparing to talk again Tuesday, continuing their work
towards a deal on coronavirus relief spending. S&P 500 futures ESc1 traded steady early in the Asian
session, after the best daily gain on the S&P 500 index .SPX
in a month overnight. Oil held sharp overnight gains. O/R
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2% to a two-week high. Japan's Nikkei
.N225 rose 0.4%. South Korea's Kospi .KS11 rose 0.6% and
futures point to a positive open in Hong Kong HSIc1 .
Australia's ASX 200 .AXJO dipped 0.2% in early trade.
China's markets remain closed for a holiday.
"There's some tentativeness," said Michael McCarthy, chief
market strategist at brokerage CMC Markets in Sydney, especially
in Australia ahead of a central bank meeting at 0330 GMT
followed by the government's budget in the evening.
Asian markets on Monday unwound most of a Friday selloff in
the wake of Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. With his improvement,
Wall Street rallied sharply overnight with, energy, tech and
healthcare stocks leading. The Dow .DJI rose 1.7%, the S&P 500
1.8% and the Nasdaq .IXIC 2.3%. .N
Bond markets also joined in, with the safe-haven asset being
sold - especially at the long end - in line with the optimistic
mood. The yield on U.S. 30-year government bonds US30YT=RR
rose 10 basis points to a four month high of 1.5930%. US/
Benchmark 10-year yields US10YT=RR hit a more than
five-week high, and held there in early Asian trade at 0.7784%.
"Improved near-term stimulus prospects and then potentially
bigger deficits under a Biden presidency that has the benefit of
clean sweep, are behind the yield gains here," said Ray Attrill,
head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
In currency markets, the dollar was under pressure on other
majors apart from the yen, since higher yields can often draw
flows from Japan. FRX/
The yen JPY= last traded steady at 105.73 per dollar. The
risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars edged ahead,
with the Aussie AUD=D3 last up 0.1% at $0.7191 and the kiwi
NZD=D3 at $0.6651.
The euro EUR= was just below a two-week high hit overnight
at $1.1789.
Oil jumped more than 5% overnight and held there in Asia,
supported by optimism surrounding Trump's health and a supply
squeeze owing to a strike at Norwegian oilfields. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 was last steady at $39.25. Brent crude
LCOc1 rose 0.2% to $41.36. Gold XAU= was steady at $1,912 an
ounce.