Asia opens mostly higher in tandem with Wall Street

Asian stock indices opened the third session of the week mixed but mostly positive, with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea higher, while China lost ground amid hopes for quick approval for Covid 19 vaccines. 

However the second coronavirus wave continues to hammer world economies, with the World Health Organization reporting 58.9 million global cases of Covid 19 so far, with the death toll standing at 1.393 million. 

Japan's TOPEX rose 0.79%, while Nikkei 225 rose 1.17% to 26,472. 

China's CSI 300 fell 0.27%, while Shanghai declined 0.22% to 3,395. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.85%, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.29% to 2,625. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.91%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.85% to 6,700.