Asian shares edged up and were set to end a tumultuous 2020 at
record highs, while growing investor hopes for a global economic recovery
caused the dollar to fall further against most major currencies
By Alun John and
Koh Gui Qing
HONG KONG/NEW YORK
(Reuters) - Asian
shares edged up on Thursday and were set to end a tumultuous 2020 at record
highs, while growing investor hopes for a global economic recovery caused the
dollar to fall further against most major currencies.
MSCI's gauge of
Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 0.1% to its latest peak, having
explored fresh territory repeatedly late in the year. But year-end trading was
typically thin.
The index is set
for a fourth-quarter gain of over 19%, which would be its strongest three-month
performance since 2009, and a yearly rise just shy of 20%, which would be its
highest since 2017.
"A lot of the
rise in the second part of the quarter is because the political risk
evaporated," said Kerry Craig, Global Market Strategist, J.P. Morgan Asset
Management, citing the U.S. election, hopes for an easing in U.S. China trade
tensions and the Brexit deal.
Looking to 2021,
Craig said investors were trying to balance the potential for rising inflation
against a likely economic
recovery, and assess whether that rebound might be impeded early in the
year by new strains of COVID-19 and struggles with rolling out vaccines.
Chinese blue chips
rose 1.45% on Thursday after official data showed that activity in China's
service and factory sector expanded in December, albeit both at a slower pace
than the previous month. The Hong Kong benchmark also rose 0.26%.
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