Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebounds from uncertainty

Vincent Yu

Stocks drift on Wall Street; Treasury yields keep rallying

A woman walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Asian stocks advanced Tuesday as investors watched for details of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's promised economic stimulus plan.

Vincent Yu

Stocks drift on Wall Street; Treasury yields keep rallying

Rafiq Maqbool

Stocks drift on Wall Street; Treasury yields keep rallying

People walk past the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Global shares and U.S. futures were mostly lower Monday as hopes for more U.S. economic aid were countered by fears over spreading damage from the pandemic.

Rafiq Maqbool

Stocks drift on Wall Street; Treasury yields keep rallying

A man watches Indian stock market indices on a display screen on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Global shares and U.S. futures were mostly lower Monday as hopes for more U.S. economic aid were countered by fears over spreading damage from the pandemic.

Frank Franklin II

Stocks slip on Wall Street as worldwide rally takes a pause

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2020 file photo, the American Flag hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street is tapping the brakes on its record-setting rally this week, as markets worldwide take a pause on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.

Colin Ziemer

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebounds from uncertainty

In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders Edward MacCarthy, left, and Robert Charmak work on the trading floor, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights Tuesday, while Treasury yields keep marching higher amid expectations that the economy will pull out of its slump after a powerful recovery sweeps the globe later this year.

Colin Ziemer

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebounds from uncertainty

In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Ashley Lara works on the trading floor, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights Tuesday, while Treasury yields keep marching higher amid expectations that the economy will pull out of its slump after a powerful recovery sweeps the globe later this year.

Colin Ziemer

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebounds from uncertainty

In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Frank O.Connell, right works with a feel trader on the floor, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights Tuesday, while Treasury yields keep marching higher amid expectations that the economy will pull out of its slump after a powerful recovery sweeps the globe later this year.

Posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2021 10:18 pm | Updated: 10:48 pm, Tue Jan 12, 2021.

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rebounds from uncertainty Associated Press |

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street rebounded, shrugging off uncertainty about a possible new attempt to impeach President Donald Trump over last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index gained less than 0.1%, recovering from the previous day's decline.

Analysts suggested investors focused on President-elect Joe Biden's economic stimulus plans after he takes office next week. Democrats in Congress are discussing possibly impeaching Trump for encouraging supporters who attacked the Capitol, but the president has taken few official actions since then.

“Hopes are pinned on the incoming Biden administration, leveraging Democrat Senate majority, to emphatically tackle COVID,” said Mizuho Bank in a report.

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.

Investor hopes have been boosted by the rollout of coronavirus vaccines. Markets have risen despite a spike in case numbers in the United States and some other countries.

In the United States, those hopes have been encouraged by the shift in control of the Senate from Republicans to Biden's Democratic Party. That might reduce the likelihood of political opposition if Biden introduces a more ambitious stimulus plan. He has said he will release details Thursday.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 3,801.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 31,068.69. The Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to 13,072.43.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 61 cents to $53.82 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 96 cents on Tuesday to $53.21. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 72 cents to $57.30 per barrel in London. It gained 92 cents the previous session to $56.58.

The dollar declined to 103.59 yen from Tuesday's 103.83. The euro rose to $1.2215 from $1.2201.