Asian stocks hit record on Biden stimulus hopes

Fireworks over the White House after Joe Biden was sworn in as the new U.S. president.

Fireworks on global markets too.

The MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan touched fresh record highs on Thursday (January 21), up around 0.8%.

South Korea's Kospi index put on 1.5%, while Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.8% to close at a 30-year high.

Investors bet the new administration will mean more and bigger stimulus.

They note signs of Republican willingness to work with Biden on a $1.9 trillion spending package.

Relief too that the transition of power proved orderly in the end.

The gains in Asia followed fresh record highs on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq index adding close to 2%.

But the prospect of a U.S. spending splurge weighed on the greenback.

In Asian trade the dollar index was down around 0.2%.