[AP] Asian stock markets surged Thursday after President Donald Trump was acquitted in an impeachment trial and China announced a tariff cut on U.S. imports and aid to businesses reeling from a virus outbreak.Market benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul all rose more than 2%. Shanghai, Sydney and India also advanced.
Markets also were boosted by strong U.S. corporate earnings. That helped to dampen fears about the impact of sweeping Chinese efforts to contain a viral disease as the death toll rose.
"The markets are not only holding up, but they’re going up!" said Stephen Innes of AxiCorp in a report. "To suggest risk appetite continues to ’creep’ back in favor might be the biggest understatement of the week."
Trump was acquitted after a rare trial before the U.S. Senate on charges of abuse of office following accusations he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a potential rival in this year’s presidential election.
China announced tariff cuts on $75 billion of U.S. imports including auto parts in response to similar American reductions in a trade truce. That followed the signing of the "Phase 1" agreement in their fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions and trade surplus.