Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher as virus fears ease

Asia stock markets followed Wall Street higher Tuesday 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.

Reports from South Africa, where Omicron first was spotted, that hospitals haven't been overwhelmed "is fuelling some optimism" among traders who sold earlier, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1% to 3,593.73 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 2.1% to 28,503.36. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.5% to 23,690.01.