Japan reported weaker than expected export data for November, despite a recovery in trade with China, its biggest market.
A monthly survey of manufacturers showed conditions improving, with the purchasing managers index at preliminary reading of 49.7 on a scale up to 100 where 50 markets the cut off for expansion. It was a 20-month high for the purchasing managers index of au Jibun Bank. The PMI was at 49.0 in November.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 6,710.70 and the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher.
A vaccine candidate developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health may be on the cusp of regulatory approval after the Food and Drug Administration said its preliminary analysis confirmed its safety and effectiveness. It would join the nation's first vaccine, which just began rolling out. Hundreds of hospital and health care facilities will get their first shipments Tuesday of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Another big gain for Apple also helped to lift Wall Street. The most influential stock in the S&P 500 because of its massive market value, it rose 5% after a report from Japan's Nikkei said it may produce more iPhones in the first half of 2021 than analysts had been expecting.