Asian shares at record highs on global vaccine hopes

Successful global roll-out of vaccines has raised hopes of a rapid economic recovery helped by large US fiscal stimulus.

Asian shares advanced to record highs on Monday as successful coronavirus vaccine rollouts globally raise hopes of a rapid economic recovery amid new fiscal aid from Washington, while oil prices rose on heightened tensions in the Middle East. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 0.4 percent to 736.4. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.1 percent, touching the 30,000 mark for the first time since 1990, despite data showing the country’s recovery from its worst post-war recession slowed in the fourth quarter.