Thursday, January 21, 2021

Asian markets set for messy open after US stocks peak on Biden inauguration

 By Jessica DiNapoli

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian investors were expecting a mixed day of trading after Wall Street peaked on Thursday, pushed upward by continued optimism about economic stimulus to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic promised by newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden.

"The markets had such a strong run yesterday after the presidential inauguration in the U.S. and the run-up to that, that the lead coming in from the U.S. is a bit messy," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at investment manager AMP Capital in Sydney. "A lot of the good news is out there. I suspect a fairly flat day."

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.02%.

Australia's ASX 200 fell 0.08% in early trade Friday.

On Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index closed up .82%, and the futures contract is now down 0.49% from the close.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were down 0.17%.

On Wall Street, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Thursday, up .03% and .55%, respectively.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04%. It had been poised for a record until falling into negative territory in the final minutes of trading.

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