BEIJING, Dec. 30 (BNA): Asian stock markets were mixed on Thursday after Wall Street hit a high and daily new coronavirus cases in the United States rose to a record high.
Tokyo and Seoul retreated while Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced.
Wall Street surged on Wednesday to hit a high of 70 in 2021, the Associated Press reports.
Optimism has been tempered by data showing new US virus cases rising to 265,000 a day, driven largely by the more infectious omicron formula.
Mizuho Bank’s Tan Boon Hing said in a report that markets are “clinging to little optimism” while healthcare resources are “doing a balancing act”.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% to 3626.58 after the vice minister of commerce said that total Chinese trade is expected to grow 20% in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 28826.41 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 23134.88.
Seoul’s Kospi fell 0.4% to 2,983.48 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was down 0.3% at 2,981.24.
India’s Sensex Index opened 0.2% higher at 57950.97. New Zealand and Bangkok gained while Singapore and Jakarta fell.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.1% to 4,793.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 36,488.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1% to 15,766.22.
The S&P 500 is on track to post a gain of more than 27% in 2021.
The index, which also set records on Monday and December 23, set more new highs in 2021 than in any year since 77 in 1954. The Dow hit a record high in early November.
Investors have been encouraged by strong corporate profits and advances in vaccine development and virus treatment.
This was tempered by the Federal Reserve’s decision to try to cool US inflation, which has reached its highest level in nearly four decades, by rolling back the stimulus that boosted stock prices.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up on gains in the healthcare, technology and consumer-oriented stocks.
Biogen stock jumped 9.5%, the largest gain in the index. Shares of Target, Nike, supermarket operator Kroger and auto retailer AutoZone rose 1.3% or more.
Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms fell 0.9%, Exxon Mobil fell 0.9% and Morgan Stanley fell 1.2%.
Trading was lighter as investors closed positions for the year. Fewer than 3 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange compared to the usual daily average of 4.5 billion.
Investor concerns about the omicron variant subsided after researchers said it appeared to cause less severe symptoms and President Joe Biden avoided announcing travel or other restrictions that might affect economic activity.
However, markets remain unsure about the Omicron effect, which is spreading rapidly and rapidly becoming the dominant form.
In energy markets, benchmark US crude rose 24 cents to $76.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 58 cents to $76.56 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the price basis for global oils, rose 20 cents to $79.41 a barrel in London. It closed up 29 cents the previous session at $79.23.
The dollar rose to 115.04 yen from 114.97 yen on Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.1333 from $1.1344.