The Japanese stock market closed slightly higher on Wednesday. Investors have slowed down a bit after the recent strong price gains, triggered by optimism about corona vaccines.
Markets also processed the new record levels on Wall Street, where the vote was buoyed by hopes for further corona support from the US government. The other major stock exchanges in the Asian region showed a mixed picture.
The leading Nikkei in Tokyo ended up with a plus of 0.1 percent at 26,800.98 points. The main index thus hovered around the highest level in more than 29 years. Automaker Honda was among the strongest risers with a profit of 5.1 percent.
Pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical and retail company Seven & i Holdings also did well, winning 2.9 and 3.3 percent respectively. Recruit Holdings fell 4.8 percent. The secondment company announced that shareholders will sell $ 4 billion worth of company shares to foreign investors.
The main index in Shanghai was down 0.2 percent in the meantime and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.3 percent. Trading in Xiaomi’s share in Hong Kong was halted. Reuters news agency reported that the Chinese smartphone maker has raised $ 3.91 billion from the sale of shares. The selling price of the shares was at the lower end of the previously issued price range. After trading resumed, the share fell almost 12 percent.
In Seoul, the Kospi gained 1.6 percent thanks to a price gain of almost 3 percent from South Korean technology group Samsung. The All Ordinaries in Sydney won a fraction. The Australian economy grew 3.3 percent in the third quarter, after contracting 7 percent in the second quarter. The recovery in the past quarter was stronger than expected.
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