By Scott Murdoch

HONG KONG, (Reuters) – Asian shares markets traded in positive territory Tuesday after investors became cautiously optimistic that the Omicron variant would not lead to widespread economic disruption and worsening of the coronavirus pandemic.

The higher open followed a brighter lead from Wall Street on Monday which reacted to news from U.S President Joe Biden that new lockdowns https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/wall-street-rebounds-after-virus-linked-sell-off-2021-11-29 as a result of the variant were off the table for now.

On Tuesday, MSCI’s Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan was 0.52% lower.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.15% while was trading 1.2% higher early in the session.

Hong Kong was down 0.25%, while China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index rose 0.13%.

Official data on Tuesday showed that activity in China’s service sector increased at an a little slower rate in November. This was due to the fact that the sector suffered from new lockdown measures, which were implemented by authorities in an effort to control the outbreak.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed that the official PMI, which measures non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), fell to 52.3 from 52.4 October.

Following a viral-led selldown that occurred late last week and which concerned global investors, the better performance in Asian equities markets was due to a stronger performance. Investors were worried the variant would prompt more lockdowns that could hinder economic recovery.

John Milroy from Ord Minnett, a Sydney adviser said that all his clients and coworkers were net buyers Monday through today.

There is a new version, but the V-shaped recovery remains intact, especially in the U.S. Earnings projections remain intact and household cash is plentiful.

Advisors said that Omicron’s disruption of trade, travel, and economic activity could still have a negative impact despite the Tuesday open.

“There are so many unknowns about Omicron and the market has been jumping at shadows,” said James Rosenberg, a Sydney-based financial advisor at EL&C Baillieu said.

“After such strong runs and elevated valuations, market will always be vulnerable to the occasional shakeout on news which could bring risks.”

On Tuesday, gains were made after Monday’s rise of 236.6 points (or 0.68%) to 35.135.94; the gain 60.65 point(1.32%), to 4.655.27; and the addition 291.18points, or 1.8%, at 15,782.83.

The yield on benchmark in Asian trading was 1.5192%, compared to its U.S. closing of 1.529% Monday.

Two-year yields rise with investors’ expectation of higher Fed funds rates. It was 0.502%, compared to a close in the U.S. of 0.51%.

While gold fell as a result of the firming in other markets, it was up 0.7% in the U.S. session to $1.783.1/ounce. It ticked slightly higher in Asia in the early hours to be neutral.

The average barrel price rose 1.43%, to $70.95 per barrel. It rose to $74.4 per barrel.