By Jessica DiNapoli
NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Investors in Asian markets were poised for gains on Wednesday after Wall Street indexes rose on the back of U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's push for a sizable fiscal relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've sort of seen a positivity evident last night in Wall Street already in Asian trade on Tuesday," said Kyle Rodda, a markets analyst at IG Markets, who noted Asian markets are following U.S. stimulus developments more than anything else.
"The gains are modest," he added.
Australia's ASX 200 .AXJO rose more than 0.5% in early trade Wednesday.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.03%.
{{178|Japan's NiNikkei 225 futures NKc1 added 0.07%, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 lost 0.29%.
At Yellen's confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said the benefits of a big stimulus package are greater than the expenses of a higher debt burden. Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, last week laid out a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal to boost the economy and speed up the distribution of vaccines.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.38%, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.81%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.53%.
The dollar dropped for a second straight session on Tuesday with investors turning their focus to riskier assets. treasuries fell after Yellen said during her hearing that 2017 tax cuts for corporations should be rolled back. prices rose on Tuesday on hopes that Biden's proposed stimulus will lift economic output, while gold also firmed. Global assets
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