Stocks in the Asia Pacific region were mixed on Friday as Democratic challenger Joe Biden, inches closer to taking the White House.
This comes after Wall Street rose amid protracted vote-counting following the U.S. elections on Tuesday, Nov.3, 2020.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.91 per cent to end at 24,325.23, hitting the highest level in 29 years, while the broader Topix index was up 0.52 per cent to 1,658.49.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index edged up 0.11 per cent to close at 2,416.5.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.24 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 0.09 per cent after a 3.25-per cent surge on Thursday.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 0.82 per cent and the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.8 per cent on the day.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.95 per cent on Thursday, the S&P 500 index also added 1.95 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose nearly 2.6 per cent.
Biden gained further ground in Georgia and Pennsylvania on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s leads dwindled in the key battleground states.
