Markets were mixed on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 was flat while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.9 percent.
Markets were initially weighed down by China's announcement of a plan to impose a new security law in Hong Kong, raising concerns of fresh tension between China and the US.
“Justifiably, the Hong Kong Security bill on the agenda for the NPC in Beijing today evokes insecurity in the markets; as risks of US China conflict and renewed Hong Kong protests grow,” analysts at Mizuho Bank said in a note.
However, investors turned more optimistic over the course of the day.
Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy, wealth management at OCBC Bank, said that “we’ve seen this happen before and while it might impact the Hong Kong market, I’m not sure whether it will spillover into the rest of Asia, rest of the world unless it’s results in a significant economic impact as Covid-19 has”.
Meanwhile, on the COVID-19 front, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US, said on Friday that Moderna’s vaccine data looked “promising”.
Fauci also acknowledged that the US “can’t stay locked down for such a considerable period of time that you might do irreparable damage and have unintended consequences, including consequences for health”.
Tom Lee, founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, claimed that “there has yet to be a second wave in re-opened economies” and thinks that “stocks offer pretty good risk/reward”.
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