Asian stocks mixed after Wall St record on stimulus hope

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street hit a new high on optimism about economic stimulus and coronavirus vaccine development despite a spike in U.S. unemployment claims.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated while Shanghai gained. Seoul swung between small gains and losses.

Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index gained for a third day on optimism about progress in Washington toward a new economic aid package while the government reported the highest level of new jobless claims in three months.

Market action suggested investors see “bad data is good news” for progress toward a stimulus, said Mizuho Bank in a report.

Also Friday, Japan's central bank extended an emergency loan program by six months and left monetary policy unchanged, as expected.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.2% to 26,760.96 while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1% to 3,409.31. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.7% to 26,499.90.

The Kospi in Seoul was up 0.2% at 2,774.38 at midday while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 sank 1.1% to 6,683.20.

India's Sensex opened down 0.3% at 46,723.73. New Zealand, Singapore and Bankok also retreated while Jakarta rose.

Investors have been waiting since before the American presidential election Nov. 3 for U.S. lawmakers to agree on new aid to replace unemployment benefits that are expiring. That loss in income undercuts consumer spending that powers the biggest global economy and demand for imports from Asian and other suppliers.

The Labor Department reported the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to 885,000 last week, the highest level since September.

Progress in developing and distributing coronavirus vaccines has helped to buoy optimism the U.S. economy might start to recover next year.

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