Asian stocks mixed after Wall Street election gains
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rose amid protracted vote-counting following this week's U.S. elections.
Tokyo and Sydney advanced while Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined.
Markets are betting on control of the U.S. Congress being split between Republicans and Democrats, which could mean low taxes and light regulation that investors like stay in place.
On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index closed 1.9% higher. It is moving toward its biggest weekly gain since April.
“I find it remarkable how relaxed these markets are under the circumstances,” said Craig Erlam of Oanda in a report. “Hopefully, the faith investors have shown is rewarded, because the last thing we need is an extremely messy conclusion to what has already been a hostile and divisive election.”
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7% to 3,296.45 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1% to 24,353.15. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2% to 25,649.51.
The Kospi in Seoul was down less than 0.1% at 2,412.51. The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney advanced 0.7% to 6,181.30.
India's Sensex opened up 0.7% at 41,641.53. New Zealand and Jakarta gained while Singapore and Bangkok declined.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 3,510.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.9% to 28,390.18. The Nasdaq composite climbed 2.6% to 11,890.93.
In the U.S. presidential election, challenger Joe Biden leads in the vote counting, but President Donald Trump and his supporters are questioning the legitimacy of the totals with key states still counting ballots.
“Markets are still betting on a clear election outcome (presumably Biden),” said Mizuho Bank in a report.
Analysts warn that an extended court battle with no clear winner could increase uncertainty, which...