SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks appeared to have a mixed start on Wednesday, as optimism continued to fuel US stocks, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching record highs.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan appeared to open higher than its previous close of 27,732.10. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,775 while its Osaka counterpart was at 27,770.
In Australia, however, stocks were set for a lower opening. The SPI futures contract was at 7,453, compared to the last close of the S & P / ASX 200 at 7,503.
Optimism over the full approval of the Pfizer Covid vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration continued to lift U.S. markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.55 points, or less than 0.1%, to 35,366.26. The S&P 500 added 0.1% to a new closing high of 4,486.23. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 15,019.80, also a new closing high.
Chinese stocks have dominated the Nasdaq as investors gain clarity on China’s regulatory outlook and buy stocks of names that have been beaten in recent times.
“The markets are still in good shape with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine that received regulatory approval on Monday, which opens the way for organizations to demand vaccines for workers and thereby increase vaccination rates,” Tapas Strickland, director of the economics and markets at the National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.
“The delta epidemic in China also appears to be under control with two consecutive days without a new domestic case … while the PBoC is committed to strengthening credit support for small businesses and the real economy,” he said. -he declares.
Currencies
The Japanese yen was trading at 109.69 per dollar, stronger than the levels above 109.7 seen yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7256, a little higher than levels above $ 0.722 yesterday.
– CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.
