Hong Kong, Shanghai Stocks In The Red At Midwway

Hong Kong stocks finished Wednesday morning with losses, in line with a sell-off across Asia on increased concerns about spiking coronavirus infections and a pause in trials for treatment.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3 percent, to 24,583.

But the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.6 percent to 3,339, while the Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.5 percent, to 2,292.

Tokyo eased 0.1 percent. Sydney, Seoul, Taipei and Manila all dropped.

Singapore shed 0.5 percent after data showed the city-state's economy contracted 7 percent in the third quarter. Still, Wellington and Jakarta edged up.

Fears for the economic recovery have mounted in recent weeks because of a Covid-19 resurgence, particularly in Europe where governments are resorting to new controls while trying to avoid the devastating nationwide lockdowns of March and April.

The moves come as Johnson & Johnson said it had temporarily halted its vaccine trial after a participant fell sick, which was followed by news that Eli Lilly had also paused testing of an antibody treatment out of safety concerns.

"Anxiety over second-wave resurgence of Covid-19, which is now apparent in many major economies, is... clouding the view where the question remains how activity curtailment measures feed through into economic and mobility activity," said Axi strategist Stephen Innes.

"And on that front, risk has also deteriorated as participants mulled the implications of another vaccine trial setback." (AFP)

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