SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific looked set for a mixed start on Tuesday, after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose to a record closing high following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Futures pointed to a higher open in Japan. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,660 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,620. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,494.24.
Australian stocks, on the other hand, looked poised for an opening slip. The SPI futures contract was at 7,440, against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 7,489.90.
Investors will watch shares of dual-listed Chinese firms such as Alibaba and JD.com. Reuters reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has began issuing new disclosure requirements to Chinese firms looking to list in New York, as part of a push to raise investor awareness of the risks involved.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.55% to 14,942.65 — a record closing high. The S&P 500 advanced 0.85% to 4,479.53 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 215.63 points to 35,335.71.
Those gains stateside came as Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine became the first in the U.S. on Monday to be granted full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, clearing the path for more vaccine mandates.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.958 following a recent slip from above 93.2.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.69 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7213, still off levels above $0.729 seen last week.
Source: CNBC