By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning, giving up some of its gains from Tuesday. The U.S. continued infighting over further COVID-19 stimulus measures overnight.
The U.S. Congress continued debate on extending unemployment benefits, due to expire at the end of the month, and further funding for schools. But the Republicans and Democrats are still in disagreement over the final price tag.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned that the $1 trillion package proposed by Republicans is not sufficient.
But some investors warned that the stocks’ months long rally could come to an end in August and September, with no catalyst to drive the rally.
“I’m more concerned going into the August, September period: what’s going to then be the next catalyst to take the broader market higher,” Andrew Sheets, cross-asset strategist at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), told Bloomberg. He warned that it is going to be “a tougher period for stocks.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.28% by 11:19 PM ET (4:19 AM GMT).
South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.31%, despite official data, due to be released on Thursday, expected to show that the country slipped into a recession in the second quarter.
Down Under, the ASX 200 slid 1.12%. Melbourne, currently under lockdown to curb a fresh outbreak of COVID-19, ordered residents to wear masks when leaving their residences from Wednesday. The city recorded 364 cases on Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.26%.
China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.51% while the Shenzhen Component was up 1.86%.