Asian shares slip on faltering hopes for COVID vaccines

Hong Kong: Stocks fell back across Asia on Thursday after gains for big technology shares pushed most Wall Street benchmarks higher.
News of potentially effective vaccines for COVID-19 has been countered by concerns over the logistical challenges of ensuring access to billions of people and over rising caseloads that are leading governments to re-instate restrictions on business and other activities to battle the pandemic.
Vaccine trades reversed to give way to ‘stay home’ trades” as shares of companies that do well when people stay home and work remotely rallied, Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. But it added, Fact of the matter is, progress on vaccine development is at worst two steps forward one step back, and not one step forward and two steps back on a sustained basis.” Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to 25,459.13 despite a report that machinery orders fell in September, suggesting weakness in corporate investment.
But the mood was more sombre elsewhere in Asia.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.1% to 26,206.78 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,332.24. In Seoul, the Kospi gave up 0.2% to 2,480.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 6434.60.