Investors are closely monitoring the situation in China as well as other countries. Interestingly, most stocks in Asia-Pacific saw gains on the day, as investors reacted to data on China’s industrial profits for October. Also, markets scrutinized concerns regarding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate. It makes sense as experts from the U.S. criticized results as well as methods used in their phase three vaccine trials.
It is worth mentioning that mainland Chinese stocks strengthened their positions on the day. The Shanghai Composite added 1.14% to about 3,408.31. At the same time, the Shenzhen Component gained 0.668% to around 13,690.88.
Importantly, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was about 0.06% higher, as of its final hour of trading.
People should take into account that China’s industrial profits jumped 28.2% year-on-year in October. This information came from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Let’s have a look at the Japanese stocks. The Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 26,644.71. In the meantime, the Topix index advanced 0.47% to finish its trading day at 1,786.52.
Also, South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.29% to close at 2,633.45.
However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell on Friday. Interestingly, S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.53% on the day to 6,601.10.
Stocks in Asia and coronavirus vaccine
Companies from around the world are working hard to create an effective vaccine. However, as the race for a coronavirus vaccine continues, questions are being raised regarding AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate. According to the firm, its vaccine was 70% effective.
The coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important challenges and it is not surprising that investors would like to learn more about the coronavirus vaccine. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, as can be seen from the rising coronavirus cases in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Hopefully, private as well as governmental organizations are working round the clock to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, people should take into consideration that the coronavirus pandemic created a lot of problems for companies that operate in different industries. Moreover, millions of people around the world lost their jobs and many of them are still looking for a job. In the case of the airline industry, it could take several years to return to pre-coronavirus levels.
In this situation, it is not surprising that information about the coronavirus vaccine affects stocks. Moreover, investors will continue to monitor the situation, and companies are working hard to gain approval from the regulators.
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