Asian stocks mix while European stocks advance

Gulf Today Report 

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday due to record gains in Wall Street despite a possible new attempt of impeaching President Donald Trump.

Tokyo, Australia and South Korea advanced while Shanghai was off by 0.1%. Hong Kong swung between gains and losses.

In a report, Mizuho Bank said, "hopes are pinned on the incoming Biden administration, leveraging Democrat Senate majority, to emphatically tackle COVID.” 

The Shanghai Composite Index declined to 3,604.92 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.6% to 28,325.95. 

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down less than 0.1% at 28,267.11.

The Kospi in Seoul added 0.8% to 3,152.03 and the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney was up less than 0.1% at 6,681.60.

New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets advanced.

The roll-out of coronavirus vaccine has boosted investors hope. 

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European stocks 

European stocks gained on Wednesday as grocer Carrefour and Spain’s Telefonica advanced, overshadowing decline in banking sectors due to extended lockdowns.

The broader pan-European STOXX 600 index rose just 0.2% as investors paused after last week's strong rally.

Carrefour stock was last up 8.6%, leading gains in Paris' CAC 40, Spanish telecom company Telefonica rose 7.9%. 

Banks edged lower due to growing concerns of prolonged lockdown slowing the pace of economic recovery. 

David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets said, "the longer the economies are under lockdown the more likely we're going to have loan defaults. So that's impacting the banks."

The German DAX was flat as Health Minister Jens Spahn said the country will not be able to lift all restrictions at the beginning of February.

Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.2%, while banking stocks fell 0.6% while Copenhagen stocks fell 0.8%.