Asian shares mixed as virus fears cloud economic outlook
ABC News
Asian share are mixed as skepticism about the regional economic outlook tempered any rally because of worries about further waves of COVID-19 outbreaks
TOKYO -- Asian shares were mixed Monday, as fears of further waves of coronavirus outbreaks clouded the economic outlook for the region, tempering gains.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was little changed in afternoon trading, inching up less than 0.1% to 30,254.01 after zigzagging earlier in the day. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 7,404.30. South Korea's Kospi added 0.2% to 3,131.83. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7% to 24,360.55, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.6% to 3,591.49.
Japan's ruling party holds an election later this week to choose a leader, who is likely to succeed Yoshihide Suga as prime minister after just one year in office. All the candidates are certain to stick to the nation's pro-U.S. policies, despite some nuances in their views.
They also are all promising to boost government spending to try to catalyze growth in the world's third largest economy.
