Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as investors await China's trade data for December - CNBC

indonesiabei.blogspot.com

SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade as investors await the release of Chinese trade data for December.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 led gains among the region's major markets as it rose 1.23% while the Topix index edged 0.66% higher.

Mainland Chinese stocks, on the other hand, declined: The Shanghai composite shed 0.49% while the Shenzhen component dropped 1.257%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.23%.

South Korea's Kospi was flat. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.39%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded about 0.1% lower.

China's trade data for December is expected to be out at around 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN on Thursday.

On the coronavirus vaccine front, trial data published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine showed Johnson & Johnson's one-shot Covid vaccine is safe and appears to generate a immune response in both young and elderly volunteers.

J&J's vaccine candidate, which only requires one dose, could simplify logistics for health-care providers. The two vaccines currently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna require two doses about three to four weeks apart.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to close at 3,809.84 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% to close at 13,128.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just 8.22 points lower at 31,060.47.

The moves stateside came as turmoil in Washington continues, with the House on Wednesday impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol last week.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.265 after rising earlier from levels below 90.

The Japanese yen traded at 103.83 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 104 against the greenback seen earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7749, having seen an earlier low of $0.773.

Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.14% to $55.98 per barrel. U.S. crude futures dipped fractionally to $52.87 per barrel.

• China: Trade data for December at 11:00 a.m. HK/SIN

— CNBC's Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"asia" - Google News
January 14, 2021 at 06:42AM
https://ift.tt/38D2Qpg

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed as investors await China's trade data for December - CNBC
"asia" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YpEquI
https://ift.tt/2WkdbyX

Bagikan Berita Ini