Asian shares mixed after another Wall Street tech sell-off

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Friday following a selloff of technology shares on Wall Street.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped early losses to rise 0.6% to 23,383.87. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.1% to 2,394.09, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.8% to 5,859.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 24,471.29, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% to 3,255.28.

Shares were lower in Taiwan but mixed in Southeast Asia.

Analysts say investors are preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic and hopes for development of a safe, effective vaccine.

While Big Tech is benefiting from the shift to online life that the pandemic and ensuing stay-at-home economy has accelerated, critics said their stocks prices have surged too high.

“Big tech stocks might have seemed like safe havens, but they have found themselves at the center of a brutal sell-off,” said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at AxiCorp.

The catch is that progress in curbing COVID-19 could hurt technology shares, Innes said.

“But keep your eye on the prize. A virus vaccine is a key to the second leg of growth recovery, which will be globally-coordinated and could run for a while as doses are distributed gradually,” he said.

The latest gyrations on Wall Street followed a wild stretch where the S&P 500 careened from its worst three-day slump since June to its best day in nearly three months.

The selling came as the odds lengthen that Congress will deliver more aid to the economy before November’s elections, support that many investors say is crucial after federal unemployment benefits and other stimulus expired. Partisan disagreements on Capitol Hill have kept Congress at a seeming impasse.

Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING, said risk aversion was dominating Asian...