New York, Jun 4 (AP) Shares advanced on Wednesday in Europe and Asia after US stocks drifted closer to their records.

Germany's DAX climbed 0.9 per cent to 24,309.65, while the CAC 40 in Paris picked up 0.7 per cent to 7,819.43. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 per cent to 8,798.65.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 per cent.

South Korea's Kospi led gains in Asia, jumping 2.7 per cent to 2,770.84 after the liberal opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung was elected president.

Lee's victory caps months of political turmoil triggered by the stunning but brief imposition of martial law by the now-ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol. Top priorities will include government spending and trade negotiations with the United States.

"Regardless of his political roots, boosting growth will be a key challenge. Even before President Trump's tariffs hit exports, the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter, seasonally adjusted, in the first three months of the year. The figures highlighted fragile business activity and private consumption," Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a report.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index surged 0.8 per cent to 37,747.45 on gains for technology and pharmaceutical companies.

Toyota Motor Corp's shares rose 1.9 per cent after it announced it was buying Toyota Industries Corp, a maker of auto parts and lift trucks, for USD 33 billion and taking it private. Toyota Industries' shares tumbled nearly 12 per cent.

Chinese shares were modestly higher. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.6 per cent to 23,654.03, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4 per cent to 3,376.20.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.9 per cent higher at 8,541.80.

Taiwan's Taiex climbed 2.3 per cent.

Investors were watching for updates on President Donald Trump's tariffs, including the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum due to take effect on Wednesday. With industries lobbying for him to expand that protection to products made from those materials, analysts say prices of many basic items will likely rise.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent and was less than 3 per cent away from its all-time high set earlier this year. The Dow industrials added 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 per cent.

Dollar General jumped 15.8 per cent for one of the market's bigger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the start of the year than analysts expected.

A report on Tuesday showed US employers were advertising more job openings at the end of April than economists expected, the latest signal that the labour market remains resilient. It set the stage for a more important report coming on Friday, which will show how much hiring and firing US employers did in May.

On the trade front, hopes are still high that Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will ultimately lower tariffs, particularly with the world's second-largest economy.

Tech stocks helped lead the way again as Nvidia rose 2.9 per cent, and Broadcom climbed 3.3 per cent. The chip companies have recovered their sharp losses from earlier this year borne amid worries that their stock prices had shot too high.

Treasury yields held relatively steady following the encouraging report on the US job market.

It is a cool down from a sharp rise for yields over the last two months. Yields had been climbing in part on worries about how the US government may be set to add trillions of dollars to its debt through tax cuts.

Higher Treasury yields make it more expensive for US households and businesses to borrow money and can discourage investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.

In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil added 1 cent to USD 63.42 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 4 cents to USD 65.67 per barrel.

The US dollar fell to 143.88 Japanese yen from 144.00 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1404 from USD 1.1370. (AP) RUK RUK