AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian markets rose again Wednesday as investors continued to ride the positive sentiment from news of a highly successful vaccine trial and Joe Biden’s US election victory.
Equities were already in the ascendant at the end of last week as it appeared the former vice president was looking on course to wrest control of the White House from Donald Trump and provide more certainty to world affairs.
But US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech provided rocket fuel Monday when they said their candidate for a Covid-19 vaccine had been 90 percent effective, lifting hope for a move towards normality for the planet.
Stocks that had been beaten down for months owing to lockdowns around the world rallied, while those that had benefited such as tech titans and makers of medical equipment took a hit.
And while the surge appeared to stutter in New York on Tuesday – the Dow jumped but the S&P 500 slipped – Asia was positive again. Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul all rose more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta also enjoyed fresh gains.
Singapore and Manila, though, edged back on profit-taking after soaring Tuesday.
Shanghai was also struggling, while traders were keeping tabs on China’s massive Singles Day shopping sale, which will be used as a gauge of consumer sentiment as the country emerges from the virus.
Safe havens that are usually the go-to in times of crisis, such as the yen and gold, were also down from their levels of a week ago, while higher-yielding currencies built on gains against the dollar.
