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SINGAPORE – Australian stocks plunged into trading on Thursday morning, as several Asia-Pacific markets are expected to close early for New Years Eve.
The S & P / ASX 200 slipped about 0.5% in Thursday’s trading.
Markets in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong are expected to close earlier than usual on Thursday due to New Years Eve.
Markets in Japan and South Korea are closed Thursday for a holiday.
On the coronavirus front, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca received an authorization for emergency use in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. Still, the UK government on Wednesday announced plans to impose tighter coronavirus restrictions on millions of people across England as a new strain of the virus spreads across the country.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.89 points to close at 30,409.56. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to end its trading day at 3,732.04 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2% to close at 12,870. Wednesday’s moves marked the fourth positive session in five for the Dow and the S&P 500.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.612 after a recent slide from levels above 90.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.13 to the dollar, after strengthening from levels above 103.8 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.77 following a rise from levels below $ 0.76 seen earlier in the trading week.
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