A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at the start of U.S. earnings season.
An employee of a bank walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at the start of U.S. earnings season.
A currency trader watches computer monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at the start of U.S. earnings season.
A currency trader watches computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at the start of U.S. earnings season.
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street retreated from a record high as major banks reported strong profits at the start of U.S. earnings season.
FILE – In this Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, people walk by the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as traders welcome some strong reports on the economy including a drop in jobless claims and a big increase in retail spending, as well as more robust earnings from big companies including Citigroup and United Healthcare
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Friday as jubilance over positive U.S. economic data and a Wall Street record high were tempered by caution in the region, where the coronavirus vaccine rollout has lagged.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% to 29,674.31 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell nearly 0.1% to 7,052.30. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 3,194.49. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched down less than 0.1% to 28,771.21, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to 3,406.93.
The contrast in the speed of the vaccine rollout has been striking between the U.S. and Asia. Nearly half of American adults have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 30% of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Japan, where inoculations for the public have barely started, has seen a resurgence of infections in recent weeks. The country’s western metropolis of Osaka reported over 1,200 new infections Thursday, its highest since the pandemic began. A top ruling party official suggested the possibility of canceling the Tokyo Olympics, set to start in July, if infections continue to surge.
Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, senior economists for ING, said the markets are watching the meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden, set for the weekend, data from China, including GDP and retail sales, as well as for further news on the pandemic.