Some Asian shares buoyed by news on coronavirus vaccine

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Tuesday, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high on optimism that a vaccine may soon control the coronavirus and the economic destruction it’s caused.

Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data. It’s the second time this month that a company unveiled such encouraging numbers about a vaccine, boosting hopes that the global economy can return to some semblance of normal next year.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 25,994.37 in afternoon trading, after momentarily reaching a 29-year high of above 26,000 earlier in the day.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 6,498.20. South Korea's Kospi lost earlier gains and slipped 0.2% to 2,537.94. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged down 0.1% to 26,349.91, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4% to 3,332.54.

“The vaccine driven fervor had continued into the fresh week with even better trial results further inspiring markets to anticipate a virus-free reality in the not too far away future,” said Jingyi Pan, senior market strategist with IG in Singapore. “Asia-Pacific markets continue to bask under the vaccine glow.”

Even as a fresh surge of COVID-19 infections hit Japan, the economy marked a rebound in the third quarter. The recovery is still not at pre-pandemic levels, but such signs are raising optimism about things returning to business as normal in the world's third-largest economy.

Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research revised its growth projection for Japan this year to a more moderate contraction of 6.3%, from an earlier forecast for an 8.8% contraction. For 2021, Fitch projects a return to 2.7% growth in 2021, which is better than its earlier forecast for 2.1% growth.

“In 2021, we...