Asian markets follow Wall Street lower on virus anxiety

BEIJING (AP) — Most Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday as anxiety about the economic fallout from rising coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe clashed with optimism about a possible vaccine.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul declined, while Shanghai advanced.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index lost 1.2% on Wednesday, erasing early gains after Pfizer and BioNTech reported more promising vaccine data. Losses accelerated after New York City said it would close its public schools to in-person learning following a surge in infections there.

“Concerns over the near-term impact of the recent spike in cases overshadowed additional positive developments on the vaccine front,” said Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa of ING in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.9% to 25,479.27 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.6% to 26,394.26. The Kospi in Seoul sank 0.5% to 2,533.47.

Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was up less than 0.1% at 6,536.90 after the government reported the Australian economy added 178,800 jobs in October, well above forecasts of fewer than 30,000.

India's Sensex opened down less than 0.1% at 44,158.95. New Zealand and Singapore also retreated while Bangkok and Jakarta gained.

Investors are swinging between optimism about vaccine development and unease about economic losses as rising case numbers in the United States and some other countries prompt governments to reimpose business and travel controls.

Newly confirmed U.S. virus cases are running close to 160,000 per day. Deaths are averaging more than 1,155 per day, the highest in months.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was up as much as 0.3% on Wednesday after Pfizer and BioNTech reported data suggesting their potential COVID-19 vaccine may be 95% effective. The...