Almost no significant changes were recorded on the stock markets of the Asia-Pacific region on Wednesday morning. The major stock indexes remain without visible movements.
However, positive trends in the US markets have a beneficial effect on indexes in other regions, including Asia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index was able to increase 30,000 points at once only against the background of the expected release of the coronavirus vaccine, which significantly raised the mood of investors.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.9%.
China's Shanghai Composite Index, on the other hand, cut its positions by 0.7%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index did not support the negative trend and went up 0.3%.
The Chinese indicator is under pressure from corporate news on several mainland Chinese companies. In particular, three public sector corporations have already missed regular payments on their securities. Investors did not receive dividends due, which affected the general mood of the markets. This was a powerful signal that a fairly large number of problems have accumulated on the Chinese bond market, which is not yet being resolved.
South Korea's KOSPI index sank 0.6%. However, there are quite good statistics on the country's economy. In particular, the consumer confidence index for the last month of autumn increased to 97.9 points, while earlier it occupied the line of 91.6 points. Thus, the current level of the indicator has become the highest since the beginning of this year, which indicates its return to the pre-crisis value.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.6% by morning, also holding its highest level in nine months.
The positive mood, however, did not influence the European stock exchanges. The major stock indexes are mainly reducing their positions. Even the fact that the political situation in the US is close to complete stabilization does not provide adequate support. Optimism is also added by the news that the coronavirus vaccine may soon be widely available, which means that the fight against the pandemic will proceed at an accelerated pace.
The general index of large enterprises in the European region STOXX Europe 600 fell by 0.2% and moved to a new level of 391.62 points.
The UK FTSE 100 Index parted from 0.3%. The German DAX Index dropped 0.13%. By contrast, France's CAC 40 index rose slightly by 0.02%. Italy's FTSE index also increased slightly by 0.06%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index dropped 0.27%.
The biggest support to date is the fact that the Donald Trump administration and the now-former leader of the country himself recognized Joe Biden's victory in the elections and began to prepare for the transfer of power.
Moreover, Joe Biden himself is actively working on the formation of his future team. As a candidate for the post of US Treasury Secretary, he nominated the former head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen. If appointed, Yellen will become the first woman in history to hold this position.
The news about the active phase of preparation for the release of the vaccine against coronavirus infection became important for the stable and sustainable growth of the region's stock markets. However, the growth of infection in the region itself is not slowing down. Some countries even began to record the maximum number of deaths per day, which does not add optimism. There is, of course, more positive news, which is primarily related to the fact that in some countries, the level of infection is gradually beginning to decline. This is particularly observed in the UK and France after the implementation of extreme restrictive quarantine measures.
