· Vaccine news prompts Asian share rally but signs of weakness emerge
Asian share markets mostly rose on Tuesday as global investors applauded successful trial data for a coronavirus vaccine, although expected delays to any mass roll-out took the gloss off early gains.
The positive tone in Asian equities came after Pfizer Inc PFE.N said its COVID-19 vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech SE BNTX.O, was more than 90% effective in preventing infection, marking the first successful results from a large-scale clinical trial.
Major Asian markets soared on the vaccine news before weakening later in the session.
Analysts attributed the decline to the heavy exposure of China’s indices to tech stocks, which came under pressure as investors eyed less consumer reliance on technology if a vaccine leads to an easing of movement restrictions.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was 0.1% higher.
· Hospitality sector boosts Tokyo stocks, stay-at-home winners lose footing
Japan’s Nikkei share average hit its best level in nearly three decades on Tuesday as pandemic-battered shares of airlines, railway operators and department stores jumped on news of progress in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Investors switched to beaten-down value shares while dumping those which benefited from the stay-at-home trend during the pandemic, such as internet service firms and game companies.
The Nikkei rose 0.26% to close at 24,905.59 points after hitting its highest level since June 1991 during the session. The broader Topix gained 1.12% to 1,700.80. Turnover jumped to 4.075 trillion yen, the biggest in five months.
· China stocks closed lower after inflation eases in October
Chinese shares closed lower on Tuesday as glum data signalled a roadblock to the country's broader economic recovery.
The blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 ended 0.6% lower at 4,953.88, after hitting a five-year high in the previous session. The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC shed 0.4%.
China's factory-gate prices fell at a sharper-than-expected pace in October, indicating tepid upstream demand for industrial goods despite a broader economic recovery.
Consumer inflation was also soft, easing to an 11-year low as pork prices snapped a year-and-a-half of steep increases that were fuelled by critical shortages of the popular meat.
· European markets advance after vaccine news sparked global rally
European stocks climbed further Tuesday morning, continuing to rally on hopes an effective coronavirus vaccine has been found.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.4% in early trade after a muted open, with travel and leisure stocks gaining 1.2% to lead gains while tech stocks bucked the upward trend to drop 1%.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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