SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific declined in Friday morning trade as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S., dimming optimism from positive vaccine news earlier in the week.
Mainland Chinese stocks were down in early trade, with the Shanghai composite declining more than 1% while the Shenzhen component dipping 0.953%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.63%. Shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent listed in the city surged 2.77% in early trade on Friday before giving up some gains. It came after the firm announced Thursday its quarterly profit rose more than 80% from last year.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.92% while the Topix index fell 1.47%. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.19%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.53%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.29% lower.
Coronavirus watch
Investor focus on Friday was likely on the coronavirus situation in the U.S., as daily new cases of the virus continue to rise in the country, setting fresh records.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned Thursday that the “next few months could be challenging” despite recent developments on the vaccine front.
“From our standpoint, it’s just too soon to assess with any confidence the implications of the news for the path of the economy, especially in the near term,” Powell said regarding the vaccine.
Oil prices decline
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down more than 1% to $42.95 per barrel. U.S. crude futures fell 1.56% to $40.48 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 92.911 following its rise this week from levels below 92.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.87 per dollar, having weakened steeply from levels below 104.3 against the greenback earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7229 after seeing levels above $0.726 for most of the week so far.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC