Asian stocks fall but boost, vaccine hopes provide support By Reuters

By Stanley White and Jessica DiNapoli

TOKYO / NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian stocks lost their first gains from a strong Wall Street lead on Wednesday, as some investors posted profits on a stellar run to record highs, but hopes of a Further economic stimulus in the United States and a coronavirus vaccine has kept market sentiment well supported.

The largest MSCI index for Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan fell 0.06%, falling from last week’s all-time high. Australian stocks erased the early gains and fell 0.38%.

Chinese stocks fell 0.22%. Tokyo shares fell 0.17% after hitting a new 29-year high. South Korean stocks resisted the trend and rose 1.11% on signs of increasing demand for semiconductors.

US stock futures fell 0.4% after a record close for Wall Street stocks.

Benchmark US Treasury yields eased slightly, but remained close to a three-week high as Republicans and Democrats submitted economic stimulus proposals in an attempt to pass a bill sometime this month -this.

Analysts believe the further decline in global equities is likely to be limited, as major uncertainties surrounding the outlook now fade.

“We’ve had some positive leads, and a combination of optimism around the vaccine and government and central bank stimulus remains in place,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. “It’s a great place for the markets.”

The indicator for MSCI’s stocks across the world rose 0.07% in Asia on Wednesday, approaching a record high.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE 🙂 and Germany’s BioNTech SE (NASDAQ 🙂 on Tuesday requested emergency approval of their candidate vaccine from the European regulator. Competitor Modern (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc also sought emergency approval from the European regulator on Tuesday.

Pfizer and BioNTech have said their vaccine could be launched in the European Union as early as this month, though a European regulator has clouded the schedule by announcing it will complete its review of their vaccine by December 29.

US lawmakers have also indicated progress on economic stimulus. Senior U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday Congress should include a new coronavirus stimulus in a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill aimed at avoiding a government shutdown amid a pandemic.

The was at 0.91% in Asia, not far from a 3-week high of 0.9380% reached in the previous session as investors gauged the likelihood of increased budget spending.

The spread between two-year and 10-year returns was also close to its strongest in three weeks.

Higher yields did not support the dollar, which was mired near its lowest level in more than 2-1 / 2 years as investor appetite for risk increased.

Oil prices have prolonged losses in Asian trade after OPEC and its allies left markets in limbo by postponing a formal meeting to decide whether to increase production in January.

futures contracts fell 0.53% to $ 47.16 per barrel, while those fell 0.63% to $ 44.27 per barrel.