GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks under pressure as pandemic concerns outweigh stimulus hopes

By Pete Schroeder
Dec 8 (Reuters) - Asian stocks came under pressure in early
trade on Tuesday as investors struggled to balance hopes for
more economic stimulus and vaccines with anxiety over the
growing number of COVID-19 cases.
A mixed Asian open followed a similarly mixed Wall Street
session with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closing at a record
high as investors flocked to mega-cap growth stocks while the
two other major U.S. indices fell.
"You saw more than a slight moderation to the S&P 500, and
the Dow, but you're still looking at these markets at record
highs," said Tom Piotrowski, a market analyst with CommSec.
"It's a matter of looking out for what the next catalyst is for
these markets."
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.13% in early trade. Australia's S&P/ASX
200 .AXJO inched up 0.09% in while Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225
fell 0.63%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI .HSIc1 were up
0.31%.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 0.45%
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI dropped 0.49% and
the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.19%. Investors are watching whether U.S. policymakers can
reinvigorate efforts to pass additional pandemic stimulus. The
U.S. Congress is expected to vote this week on a one-week
stopgap funding bill to give negotiators more time to strike a
compromise, as the business community cautioned inaction could
spur a deeper recession. At the same time, California, the nation's most populous
state, announced new restrictions on travel and business
activity after record case numbers and hospitalizations. And
officials in New York warned similar restrictions could be
employed soon, which further weigh on the nation's recovery.
The dollar slid against most currencies on Monday as
investors eyed potential stimulus and vaccine development. An
index that tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies was
little changed at 90.843 =USD , not far from 90.471, its
weakest since April 2018. But U.S. Treasury yields did fall on
Monday as investors bought the safe-haven
securities. Brent crude .LCOc1 fell 0.9% and U.S. crude .CLc1 dipped
1.1%. Prices came under pressure after Reuters reported that the
U.S. was prepping sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese
officials over alleged roles in Beijing's disqualification of
elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong. Spot gold prices XAU= were 1.3% higher at $1,860.49 per
ounce, and U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled up 1.4% at $1,866,
as investors bet on more stimulus money being pumped into the
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