Asian shares rally as Russia-Ukraine talks buoy sentiment

Asian shares surged on Thursday, tracking Wall Street’s gains as planned diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine buoyed risk-on sentiment, although analysts warned the rally could be susceptible to a sharp reversal.

According to Reuters, oil prices also regained some footing, having fallen more than 12% on the previous session as the market weighed whether major producers would boost supply to help plug the gap in output from Russia due to sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.6%, pulling away from the lowest level since November 2020. Japan’s Nikkei rallied 3.8%, the most in nearly 21 months.

Chinese blue chips rose 1.75% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.6%.

In Europe, stock futures point to a stronger open. Euro Stoxx 50 were up 0.35%, although German DAX futures were 0.55% higher and FTSE futures gained 0.48% in early deals.

Wall Street futures were slightly lower. S&P 500 futures fell 0.13% and Nasdaq futures were 0.21% lower.