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Asian stocks rise after Dow hits record

BEIJING (AP) - Asian stocks rose Wednesday after a post-U.S. election rally drove the Dow Jones industrial average to a new high.

KEEPING SCORE: Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 rose 1 percent to 5,465.50 and Seoul's Kospi added 0.5 percent to 1,992.55. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.5 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 3,250.43. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and Singapore also rose, while Indonesia declined.

WALL STREET: The Dow surpassed 19,000 for the first time. Retailers soared after strong earnings from Dollar Tree and Burlington Stores. Health care stocks slumped after weak results from medical device company Medtronic. The Dow has closed at a record high six times in the two weeks since the presidential election, but trading volume has fallen.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "The bulls have got control here," said Chris Weston of IG in a report. "U.S. equity and many other developed markets are going higher, at least in the short-term." Weston noted investors assume the U.S. Federal Reserve will go ahead with an interest rate hike in December. "Emerging markets have found support and are even attracting buyers," said Weston. "If the Fed were to assess financial conditions in the wake of a potential rate hike they would be wholly enthused."

TRUMP WATCH: President-elect Donald Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a brief video statement but avoided mentioning his campaign pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border. Trump's gradual release of policy after giving few details on the campaign trail has started to reduce investor uncertainty, shoring up share prices. "As Trump has rowed back and not mentioned some of his more extreme policy sound bites, some worries about the nature of his presidency may have begun to abate," said Alex Furber of CMC Markets in a report.

CURRENCY: The dollar held steady at 111.07 yen and the euro was little-changed at $1.0626.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 2 cents to $48.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 21 cents on Tuesday to close at $48.03. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 2 cents to $49.10 in London. The contract added 22 cents the previous session to $49.12.

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Dow Jones industrial average above 19,000, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday morning after most major indexes closed at record highs the day before. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) The Associated Press
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