Asian Shares Mostly Fall Over Pandemic, U.S. Trade Worries

Asian shares were mixed Thursday as worries about the pandemic’s damage to the global economy swirled with glimmers of hope about some regions reopening gradually to business as usual. Comments by President Donald Trump on trade with China and blaming Beijing for the coronavirus pandemic have dampened sentiment. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 19,674.77, reopening after a holiday, and South Korea’s Kospi was little changed inching down less than 0.1% to 1,928.26. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 5,364.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 23,994.80, while the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 0.1% to 2,876.13. “Asian stocks are off to a...