SYDNEY - Asia's stock markets opened higher on Monday , as vaccine optimism offset worries about rising coronavirus cases in Europe and new lockdowns in the United States, while oil prices and risk-exposed currencies also edged higher.
The US dollar, meanwhile, was marginally lower against the Antipodean currencies. Oil prices crept higher, though not enough to recoup late-week losses on worries about the winter ahead. President Donald Trump appeared on Sunday to acknowledge losing the US election but then backtracked and said he concedes"nothing," while President-elect Joe Biden focused on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
" agreement ... signals that Asia keeps pushing ahead with trade liberalisation even as other regions have become more sceptical," said HSBC economists Frederic Neumann and Shanella Rajanayagam in a note. Negotiations have already missed several deadlines and the next one looms with Thursday's European Union summit.