Asian stock indices open mixed

Asian stock indices opened the third session of the week mixed with China, Australia, and South Korea higher, while Japan, New Zealand, and Hong Kong lost ground. 

Investors are assessing Moderna's announcement that its Covid 19 vaccine is 95% effective, after Pfizer announced similar results with its own vaccine. 

From Japan, the trade surplus rose to 873 billion yen from 688 billion, beating estimates of 250 billion.

Japan's exports fell 0.2%, compared to a 4.9% tumble in September, while imports fell 13.3%. 

Earlier Australian data showed the leading index up 0.1%, slowing down from 0.2% in September, while wages rose 0.1%, also slowing down from 0.2% in the second quarter. 

Japan's TOPEX fell 0.53% to 1,725, while Nikkei 225 fell 0.76% to 25,817.

China's CSI 300 rose 0.10%, while Shanghai added 0.40% to 3,353. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.03%, while South Korea's KOSPI inched up 0.05% to 2,540. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 fell 0.88%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% to 6,520.