Asian shares mixed on growing hopes for stimulus, vaccines

Asian shares mixed on growing hopes for stimulus, vaccines

SeattlePI.com

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Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite index both set fresh record highs.

Shares fell in Hong Kong, Shanghai and India but rose in Tokyo and Seoul.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was almost unchanged at 6,590.20 after officials reported its economy expanded 3.3% in the July-September quarter as the country recovered from pandemic lockdowns. That lifted the country out of recession, although in annual terms the economy contracted 3.8% from a year earlier.

“The rebound in Q3 GDP reversed around 40% of the decline during the first half of the year and we expect output to return to pre-virus levels by mid-2021," Ben Udy of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

Renewed talk of a possible U.S. stimulus package failed to drive major gains in most Asian markets, however, as investors adopted a “wait and see" stance after so many failed attempts to forge an agreement on additional help for the economy as the U.S. endures fresh waves of coronavirus infections and resulting pandemic precautions.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 26,522.91, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo edged 0.1% higher to 26,800.98.

South Korea's Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,675.90 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower, to 3,449.93. India's Sensex gave up 0.4%. Shares rose in Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia but fell in Singapore.

Overnight, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 3,662.45, with Big Tech companies and banks driving a big part of the rally. The strong opening to December follows a 10.8% surge for the broad index in November, marking its best month since April. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.3% to 12,355.11. Both indexes beat the record highs they set on Friday. Treasury yields also rose in another sign of optimism from investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial...

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