SINGAPORE – Australia’s shares fell in Thursday morning trading as several Asia-Pacific markets are scheduled to close early for New Year’s Eve.
The S & P / ASX 200 fell about 0.5% in Thursday’s trading.
Markets in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong are expected to close earlier than normal on Thursday due to New Year’s Eve.
Markets in Japan and South Korea are closed on Thursdays for public holidays.
In front of the coronavirus, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca received authorization on Wednesday for emergency use in the United Kingdom. Still, the UK government outlined plans on Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on coronavirus on millions of people across England as a new strain of the virus spreads across the country.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.89 points to close at 30,409.56. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to close its trading day at 3,732.04, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to close at 12,870. Wednesday’s moves marked the fourth positive session in five for the Dow and S&P 500.
Coins
The US dollar index, which tracks the US dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 89.612, after a recent drop from levels above 90.
The yen traded at 103.13 per dollar, having strengthened from levels above 103.8 against the dollar earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.77 after raising levels below the $ 0.76 seen earlier in the trading week.