Asian Markets Mixed At Midday

Asian stock markets were mixed in midday trading on Friday after Wall Street rose amid protracted vote-counting following this week's US elections.

Tokyo and Sydney advanced while Shanghai and Hong Kong declined. Seoul swung between gains and losses.

Markets are betting on control of the US Congress being split between Republicans and Democrats, which could mean low taxes and light regulation that investors like stay in place.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index closed 1.9 percent higher. It is moving toward its biggest weekly gain since April.

“I find it remarkable how relaxed these markets are under the circumstances,” said Craig Erlam of Oanda in a report. “Hopefully, the faith investors have shown is rewarded, because the last thing we need is an extremely messy conclusion to what has already been a hostile and divisive election.”

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent to 3,302.02 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.1 percent to 24,367.35. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.3 percent to 25,617.47.

The Kospi in Seoul was down less than 0.1 percent at mid-morning at 2,415.67. The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney advanced 0.9 percent to 6,193.20.

New Zealand and Jakarta gained while Singapore declined.(AP)