BEIJING – Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as questions about the effectiveness of one possible coronavirus vaccine weighed on investor optimism.
Benchmarks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated while Tokyo and Seoul gained.Investors have been encouraged by reports of progress toward a possible vaccine.
But they were uneasy after researchers questioned data that showed a candidate from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca was 70% effective. “Market participants showed increasing signs of nervousness as data errors were revealed,” said Mizuho Bank in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index lost less than 0.1% to 3,368.12 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.2% to 26,776.83.