Asia shares mostly higher after US stocks gain for fifth day | National
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A currency trader walks near screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 15, 2021. Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday as China reported a variety of data that painted a complicated picture of its recovery from the pandemic.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 15, 2021. Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday as China reported a variety of data that painted a complicated picture of its recovery from the pandemic.
A currency trader watches computer monitors near screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 15, 2021. Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday as China reported a variety of data that painted a complicated picture of its recovery from the pandemic.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Gregory Rowe, left, works on the trading floor, Friday, March 12, 2021, in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which set an all-time high Thursday, was up, lifted by industrial stocks like Boeing and Caterpillar.
FILE – In this Nov. 23, 2020 file photo, a street sign is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks were mixed in early trading on Monday, March 15, 2021, as investors sifted a mixed bag of data from China. Wall Street continues to eye the bond market, where yields gave back some of last week’s gains.
A currency trader passes by screens showing foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Asian shares mostly rose on Tuesday, cheered by a rally to all-time highs on Wall Street, though worries over the slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the region were weighing on sentiment.
A currency trader talks with her colleague at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Asian shares mostly rose on Tuesday, cheered by a rally to all-time highs on Wall Street, though worries over the slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the region were weighing on sentiment.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Asian shares mostly rose on Tuesday, cheered by a rally to all-time highs on Wall Street, though worries over the slow pace of coronavirus vaccinations in the region were weighing on sentiment.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose on Tuesday, cheered by a rally to all-time highs on Wall Street.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 29,953.97. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 3,054.77. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1% to 6,846.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5% to 28,971.04, while the Shanghai Composite inched down nearly 0.1% to 3,417.02.
The slower rollouts of the coronavirus vaccine in Asia, compared to the U.S. and Europe, continues to put investors in the region in a cautionary mode, although South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and other nations have had fewer deaths.
Weighing on sentiment is news that the vaccine from AstraZeneca had had reports “blood clots after usage, whether or not a side-effect, (that) have resulted in a ‘precautionary’ suspension” in Europe,” said Venkateswaran Lavanya of Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
“This has setback Europe’s vaccination progress even more starkly compared to the U.S.,” Lavanya said in a report.
The news is also bad for Japan. Japan has started vaccinations of medical professionals with the product from Pfizer, but was set to use those from Moderna as well as AstraZeneca. The AstraZeneca vaccines were due to be produced in Japan, unlike the other two brands.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 3,368.94 after having been down 0.5% in early trading, extending its winning streak to a fifth day. Technology stocks, airlines, cruise operators and other companies that rely on consumer spending helped lift the market. Banks and energy stocks were the only laggards.
