Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher as virus fears ease

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Asia stock markets have followed Wall Street higher as anxiety about the coronavirus’s latest variant eased. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices gained for a second day. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1.2% after the chief White House medical adviser said the omicron variant might be less dangerous. That might allow travel and business restrictions to ease. Yeap Jun Rong of IG said reports from South Africa, where omicron first was spotted, that hospitals haven’t been overwhelmed “is fueling some optimism” among traders who sold earlier. Investors also are factoring mixed U.S. jobs data and the Federal Reserve’s plan to accelerate its withdrawal of stimulus to cool inflation pressures.