Japanese Parliamentary Vote, Australian Rare Earth Stocks Rise

South Korea’s Kospi index jumped more than 2% on Tuesday to a sixth straight record, building on a rally spurred by optimism around an impending trade deal with the United States.

South Korean stocks have been on a roll since U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an exclusive U.S. interview on Wednesday that Washington was “close to finishing” trade talks with the Asian country.

“The devil is in the details, but we are working out the details,” he added.

The Kospi index is up about 61% year to date.

Auto stocks helped boost the index, with shares of Hyundai Motor climbing 6.45%, while those of Kia Corp added 4.28%. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics also rose 1.73%.

The reference of Japan Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% to a new record high, after closing at a record high on Monday. The Topix also added 0.73% to reach an all-time high.

Broader Asia-Pacific markets also opened higher, tracking Wall Street’s gains, led by a rally in Apple actions.

Investors are awaiting Japan’s parliamentary vote, which will likely see Sanae Takaichi become the country’s next prime minister, after the right-wing opposition Japan Innovation Party said on Monday it was ready to support her premiership.

Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 rose 0.50%. Shares of the country’s rare earth companies rose after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed a deal on critical minerals on Tuesday, aimed at countering China’s dominance.

Australia Lynas Rare Earths added 3.8%, Iluka Resources jumped almost 6%, Pilbara Minerals increased by 4.7%. VHM rose by more than 30%, while Northern Minerals climbed almost 15%.

that of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 1.17% in early trading, while the Hang Seng Tech Index was up 1.84%. The continent’s CSI 300 was up 0.3%.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed CATL gained 4.73% after the battery maker reported strong third-quarter results on Monday evening. THE Tesla the battery supplier’s net profit for the July-September period rose 41% to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.6 billion).

Indian markets are closed for a public holiday.

U.S. stock futures were little changed in early Asian hours, ahead of a busy week of major company earnings and inflation data.

Overnight, all three key U.S. benchmarks rose following a rally in Apple shares after Loop Capital upgraded them to buy from hold.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 515.97 points, or 1.12%, at 46,706.58. The S&P 500 also climbed 1.07% to 6,735.13, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.37% to 22,990.54.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.