Asian Stocks Mixed Over Rising COVID-19 Numbers

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asian stocks were mostly up on Wednesday morning, with investors continuing to monitor the ever-rising number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and globally.

There are now over 9.2 million cases globally as of June 24, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Tensions are also rising in Hong Kong, with the National People’s Congress Standing Committee scheduled to meet over the weekend. The committee could possibly enact national security laws in both Hong Kong and Macau before July.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.05% by 10:46 PM ET (3:46 AM GMT), giving up some of its earlier gains.

China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.10% and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.05%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% and South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.48%

Down Under, the ASX 200 rose 0.11%.

Meanwhile investors remain buoyed over the possibility of continued stimulus measures as the fight against COVID-19 continues.

Stimulus “puts the bottom on bad news...bad news isn’t so bad if we think that that means more stimulus,” Nela Richardson, investment strategist at Edward Jones, told Bloomberg.

“The markets are responding also to the quick action, quickest in any recession going back to the Great Depression, of the Federal government and monetary authorities, not just in the United States, but around the world,” she added.

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