Softbank
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has said his company plans to invest $50bn and create 50,000 new jobs in the US Toru Yamanaka/ AFP

Most Asian stock market indices were trading higher on Wednesday (7 December), with the Shanghai Composite up 0.10% at 3,202.98 as of 5.19am GMT following Donald Trump announcing SoftBank's US investment plans. The uptrend also comes ahead of the upcoming policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).

On Tuesday, the US President-elect revealed that the Japanese telecom and internet giant plans to invest $50bn (£39.48bn) and create 50,000 new jobs in the US. This not only boosted confidence in the world's biggest economy but also pushed up Japan's benchmark index and SoftBank's shares.

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Asian markets that lost ground earlier in the week amid the Italian referendum are also said to have gained amid investor expectations of a positive outcome of the ECB meeting. Investors expect the central bank to change the terms of its asset-purchase programme and further extend its timeline.

"We expect the ECB to extend its asset purchase programme by six months, which I believe is in line with market expectations. But if there is any sign of tapering, that should boost the euro given that there is still big short positions in the currency," Junya Tanase, chief currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase Bank, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Indices in the region were trading as follows at 5.43am GMT:

CountryIndexPriceUp/Down%Change
Hong KongHang Seng Index22,736.06Up0.27%
JapanNikkei 22518,469.84Up0.60%
South KoreaKOSPI1,987.59Down0.11%
IndiaBSE26,437.90Up0.17%
AustraliaS&P/ASX 2005,478.10Up0.91%

On 6 December, the FTSE 100 closed 0.49% higher at 6,779.84, while the S&P 500 Index closed 0.34% higher at 2,212.23.

Among commodities, oil prices were trading in the red after data showed that crude production by both Opec and Russia had touched a new high in November.

"With both Russia and Opec producing at record amounts, the market is scratching its head about how both blocs will manage to comply with the Vienna production cut targets," Jeffrey Halley, market analyst at OANDA, was quoted as saying by CNBC.

As of 5.53am GMT, WTI crude oil was trading lower by 0.71% at $50.57 (£39.95) a barrel, while Brent crude was trading 0.56% lower at $53.63 a barrel.

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