Asian stock indices opened the fifth session of the week mixed but mostly lower with Japan, China, Australia, and Hong Kong lower, while South Korea and New Zealand gained ground, amid hopes for the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, which has reportedly been proven to be 90% effective.
Japan's TOPEX fell 1.67%, while Nikkei 225 declined 1.08% to 25,245.
China's CSI 300 slipped 0.92%, while Shanghai gave up 0.75% to 3,313.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.38%, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.23% to 2,481.
New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.24%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.37% to 6,394.