Asia stock markets rally as fears of Russia invading Ukraine ease
The tension between world powers over the Ukraine situation, which has developed into one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, has been front-and-centre of investors' minds. Asian shares rallied on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine this week dissipated after Moscow indicated it was returning some troops to base from exercises, delivering investors a measure of relief. The tension between world powers over the Ukraine situation, which has developed into one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, has been front-and-centre of investors' minds. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan surged 0.9% in early regional trade on Wednesday, playing catch-up with a rally in U.S. and European stocks on Tuesday. "If we continue to see signs that diplomacy is working and a de-escalation of tensions, I think we'll see a kind of reversal trade," said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG in Melbourne.