Asian shares mixed amid vaccine optimism, US tech sell-off

TOKYO (AP) — Asian markets were mixed Tuesday after a sell-off of shares in technology companies on Wall Street.

Tokyo was closed for a national holiday. South Korea's Kospi slipped nearly 0.2% to 3,074.76. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 6,839.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.0% to 30,618.85, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% to 3,623.99.

“Thankfully, for society at large, there is more optimism than fear today, with vaccines showing scientific results on the ground that validate efficacy and effectiveness over transmission, leading the world back to normality starting soon,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi.

Although the world's economies have been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines is raising hopes for a recovery.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,876.50, extending its losses to a fifth straight day. The benchmark index was just about evenly split between winners and losers, but technology stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending bore the brunt of the selling. Apple fell 3%, Microsoft dropped 2.7%, Tesla slumped 8.5% and Amazon lost 2.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% to 31,521.69. The Nasdaq lost 2.5% to 13,533.05. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 0.7% to 2,251.07.,

Stocks began shedding some of their gains last week after a strong start to February as rising interest rates and the potential for inflation down the road dampened some of Wall Street's enthusiasm, though the major stock indexes remain near their all-time highs.

“Equity investors are finally paying attention to the bond market,” said Mike Zigmont, director of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management. “With yields climbing, there are a...