Asian shares climb amid tug of war between hope, fear

Tokyo: Asian shares mostly rose in muted trading on Friday after Wall Street eked out modest gains amid a tug of war between worries about the worsening pandemic in the present and optimism that a vaccine will rescue the economy in the future.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5 per cent in morning trading to 25,507.95. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1 per cent to 6,554.40. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 2,554.11. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained nearly 0.2 per cent to 26,405.20, while the Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching down less than 0.1 per cent to 3,361.90.

Investors were looking ahead to data that will be out next week on the health of regional economies, including India, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, and also Taiwan and Singapore.

"The focus next week in Asia will be the extent of India's bounce back in the third quarter, as the data in October underscores the renewed threat to the region from the second wave of the pandemic," said Prakash Sakpal, senior economist Asia at ING.

Japan, which is heading to a three-day weekend, has had its optimism dashed by record daily Covid-19 cases. Although Japan has had fewer deaths related to the pandemic - under 2,000 - compared to harder-hit nations, worries are growing about a need for stricter restrictions on travel and anti-infection measures. On Wall Street on Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent after spending much of the day flipping between small losses and gains. The benchmark index was coming off a 1.2 per cent slide from the day before that pulled it away from its record of 3,626.91 set on Monday. The late-afternoon burst of buying erased nearly all of the S&P 500's losses for the week. Technology companies accounted for much of the rebound. Companies that rely on consumer spending and communications stocks also helped lift the market, outweighing losses in the utilities and health care sectors. Treasury yields fell, a sign of caution in the market.

The S&P 500 gained 14.08 points to 3,581.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 44.81 points, or 0.2 per cent to 29,483.23. The index had been down 210 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 103.11 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 11,904.71. Small-company stocks had a good showing. The Russell 2000 index picked up 14.82 points, or 0.8 per cent, 1,784.13.

Wall Street's huge November rally has slowed this week as fears about the economy buckling in the near term collide with hopes that stronger growth will arrive next year once effective coronavirus vaccines become available. A discouraging report on Thursday underscored the fears, showing that more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than the week before. It was a worse number than economists expected and the first increase in five weeks.

With infections and hospitalizations on the rise across much of the country, governors and mayors are grudgingly issuing mask mandates, limiting the size of gatherings, banning indoor restaurant dining, closing gyms and restricting the hours and capacity of other businesses.

"Good vaccine news is battling worsening coronavirus trends," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. "We're at this point where you have the endgame in sight, but the path to get there looks really murky."

Investors worry the moves and the worsening pandemic that caused them will hurt corporate profits and shake confidence among consumers, keeping them hunkered at home. New York City's announcement that it's halting in-person learning at public schools helped send stocks on their late-day slide Wednesday.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington, meanwhile, are still stymied in their attempts to deliver another dose of financial support to workers and businesses. That has the specter of a bleak winter looming for both the health care system and economy. Counterbalancing all those fears is hope that coming vaccines can control the pandemic and get the global economy back toward normal next year.

"The market is grappling with the push and pull of the progress with the vaccine track, which allows a window to when our economy can reopen, with the current reality of rising cases," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. University of Oxford scientists expect to report results from the late-stage trials of the Covid-19 vaccine they're developing with AstraZeneca by Christmas, according to a researcher. Already this month, pharmaceutical companies have offered data suggesting other vaccines under development could be highly effective.