By Imani Moise and Kane Wu
Feb 2 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets extended gains on Tuesday on increased optimism about stimulus packages and global economic recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and their new-found interest in silver.
MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 1.25% mid-morning, building on Monday's rise. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI and China's benchmark CSI300 Index .CSI300 opened 1.7% and 0.33% higher, respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 gained 0.67%.
Markets were buoyant ahead of negotiations Tuesday between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican senators on a new COVID support bill. The GOP's $618bn stimulus plan released early Monday was about a third the size of the President's proposal. Top Democrats later on Monday filed a joint $1.9 trillion budget measure in a step toward bypassing Republicans. debate (around the stimulus package) will be really interesting. Markets will follow it," said Kyle Rodda, market analyst at IG. "(but) markets have been pricing in that a stimulus pacakge will be put in place in the future."
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 benchmark .AXJO added a further 1.23%, as the country's central bank is expected to maintain its current policy setting when it releases the results of its Tuesday board meeting at 3:30am GMT.
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 also gained, adding 2.3%, as the country's ruling party readies another round of COVID-19 cash handouts and an extra budget. investors are still digesting the retail trading frenzy that has boosted GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) and other so-called meme stocks in recent sessions against their financial fundamentals.
Spot silver prices XAG= eased on Tuesday, falling more than 1% to $28.30 in early trade, as some of the feverish retail-trader driven interest in the precious metal cooled. Monday, amateur investors who have been organizing on social media sites like Reddit and Twitter, set their sights on silver, driving up mining stocks around the world and sending precious metals dealers scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand. gold XAU= rose 0.12% to $1,862.36 per ounce Tuesday. U.S. gold futures GCc1 fell 0.04% to settle at $1,860.1 per ounce.
Brent crude LCOc1 was up 0.75% at $56.77 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 recorded the same gain to $53.96 on Tuesday morning as falling inventories and rising fuel demand due to a massive snow storm in the Northeast United States propped up prices.
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