Asian markets mostly higher on hopes for coronavirus vaccine

Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Wednesday as investors were encourd by news that an experimental COVID-19 vaccine under development by Moderna and US National Institutes of Health revved up people's immune systems just as desired.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 vanced 1.4% to 22,912.24, while Kospi in South Korea ded 0.6% to 2,196.47. In Australia, S&P/ASX 200 ded 1.4% to 6,025.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.1% lower to 25,465.94, while Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.3% to 3,369.94. Shares were mixed in Souast Asia and rose in Taiwan.

Bank of Japan was due to issue a policy statement on Wednesday but t expected to make any significant changes in its ultra-easy monetary stance. Investors also are awaiting April-June ecomic growth data for China, which is due later in week.

Japan's central bank has remained stalwartly rey to pump still more stimulus into ecomy which looks likely to slide deeper into recession, Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. Its top priority will be getting credit to companies, it said. Scientists soon will begin a 30,000-person study to see if experimental vaccine developed by Moderna and NIH is strong eugh to protect against coronavirus.

News about vaccine came after end of tring for U.S. markets, where after ar day of unsettled tring S&P 500 rose 1.3% to 3,197.52. Dow Jones Industrial Aver ded 2.1% to 26,642.59, lifted by gains for UnitedHealth Group and Caterpillar, among ors. Upbeat earnings news is helpful, “But cherry on top has to be positive virus vaccine update as optimism on vaccine is more than a show stopper. Its ultimate recession stopper," Stephen Innes of AxiCorp said in a commentary.

“ positive cover on a potential Covid-19 vaccine represents a rotating carousel of positive news that is overwhelming rising virus cases in U.S.," he said.

On Wall Street, big tech-oriented stocks lagged behind, holding Nasdaq composite to a more modest gain of 0.9% to 10,488.58. earnings reporting season has kicked off with three of nation's biggest banks painting a mixed picture of how bly coronavirus pandemic is ripping through ir businesses. Like broer market, financial stocks drifted between gains and losses for much of day before turning higher in afteron. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup said y collectively set aside nearly $27 billion during second quarter to cover loans potentially going b due to recession.

JPMorgan Chase rose 0.6% after it said it me a record amount of revenue from April through June. Its profit for latest quarter also beat analysts' forecasts, even though it roughly halved from a year ago. Wells Fargo, though, dropped 4.6% after it said it expects to cut its dividend. “Our view of length and severity of ecomic downturn has deteriorated considerably,” CEO Charlie Scharf said.

Citigroup fell 3.9% after CEO Michael Corbat said its overall business performance was strong last quarter, though net income dropped 73% from a year ago largely due to $7.9 billion it set aside for loans potentially going b. yield on 10-year Treasury held at 0.63% after rallying back from a morning dip on Tuesday to 0.60%. It tends to move with investors' expectations of ecomy and inflation.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 25 cents to $40.54 per barrel in electronic tring on New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 19 cents to settle at $40.29 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent oil, international standard, picked up 27 cents to $43.17 per barrel. It rose 18 cents to $42.90 a barrel in London. In currency dealings, dollar bought 107.24 Japanese yen, up from 107.23 yen late Tuesday. euro also was almost unchanged, rising to $1.1405 from $1.1401.