Stocks in Asia-Pacific nudged higher on Friday as investors reacted to data on China’s industrial profits for October.
Markets also scrutinized concerns over the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, with results and methods used in their phase three vaccine trials under criticism from experts in the U.S.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped another 107.4 points, or 0.4%, to 26,644.71.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.01 per U.S.dollar, as compared to an earlier low of 104.28 against the greenback
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index climbed 75.23 points, or 0.3%, to 26,894.68.
As the race for a coronavirus vaccine continues, questions are being raised over AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate, for which the firm said combined results revealed it to be 70% effective.
Markets had gotten a boost earlier this week after the interim analysis of clinical trials were released by AstraZeneca. That development had come on the back of a string of encouraging vaccine results after late-stage trial readouts from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, raising hopes of a recovery from the pandemic that has crippled economies globally.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7378, after rising from levels below $0.732 earlier this week
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 popped 61.18 points, or 1.2%, to 4,980.77.
China’s industrial profits surged 28.2% year-on-year in October, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics announced Friday.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 7.54 points, or 0.3%, to 2,633.45.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index added 21.43 points, or 0.2%, to 13,867.09.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lopped off 1.66 points, or 0.1%, to 2,855.82.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 37.81 points, or 0.3%, to 12,639.83
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost 35.32 points, or 0.5%, to 6,601.05.
