Hong Kong, Shanghai Stocks Rise On Wall Street Rally

Hong Kong stocks rallied more than 1 percent in the morning session on Friday, in line with a broad advance across Asia and following a record on Wall Street, with traders cheered by progress on a virus vaccine.

The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.3 percent, to 25,100.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent, to 3,390 while the Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 1.4 percent, to 2,256.

Sydney went into the break 0.3 percent higher and Seoul jumped 1percent. Taipei rallied 1.5 percent, with Singapore and Wellington also up.

But a tough week for regional markets looked set to end on a positive note, with optimism lifted after Pfizer and BioNTech SE said a vaccine they are working on could be up for regulatory review by October.

If all goes well, a treatment could be ready to roll out as soon as November.

The news "has raised some expectation... that life around the world could return to normal sooner than expected", said AxiCorp's Stephen Innes.

"This is not only for good market concerns, this is a world desperately anxious for a cure to put an end to the most severe global recession since the 1930s so people can start to piece their lives back together.

"From a stock market concern, it's great for growth assets as planes will fly, the oil will flow, and laggard industries will emerge from the Covid-19 fog, and their stocks will soar. Indeed, with a vaccine cure, a trip to your local clinic could be the one-stop recession plugger before the year is out." (AFP)