SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Friday morning trade after a report said Pfizer expects to ship half the Covid-19 vaccine doses it originally planned for this year due to supply chain issues.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.23% in early trade while the Topix was slightly lower. South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, added 0.67%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia edged higher, as the S&P/ASX 200 gained about 0.2%. Australia’s retail sales data for October is set to be released around 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.18% higher.
Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of India is also expected to announce its interest rate decision on Friday.
In corporate developments, investors will monitor Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com. Reuters reported, citing sources, JD Logistics is seeking bank pitches for a Hong Kong IPO of up to $3 billion.
The development came just days after JD.com’s digital health-care unit, JD Health, raised $3.5 billion in a Hong Kong IPO. Shares of JD Health are expected to begin trading on Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer had originally planned to ship 100 million doses this year, but some early batches of raw materials needed for the vaccine failed to meet standards. The drugmaker repeatedly said publicly that it planned to ship 50 million vaccine doses this year and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. Still, the Journal report spurred a late-day sell-off in U.S. markets.
The S&P 500 dipped overnight on Wall Street following that report, shedding less than 0.1% to close at 3,666.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 85.73 points to finish its trading day at 29,969.52 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to close at 12,377.18.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.714 following its decline earlier this week from levels above 91.5.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.82 per dollar after strengthening sharply yesterday from levels above 104 against the greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7434, having risen from levels below $0.74 earlier in the trading week.
Here’s a look at what’s on tap:
- Australia: Retail sales data for October at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN
- India: Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision
— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.
Source: CNBC