HONG KONG, Dec 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Asian stocks made broad gains in early
Thursday trade, following another strong lead from Wall Street as Omicron
coronavirus variant fears lessened.

   In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 1.02 percent, though Tokyo dipped
into negative territory.

   After a rollercoaster ride since Omicron first emerged last month,
investors are now optimistic about the outlook in the run-up to Christmas.

   Drugmakers BioNTech and Pfizer have said a third shot of their vaccine is
effective at guarding against the new strain, while a two-dose regime will
leave Omicron "not sufficiently neutralized".

   Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com said the emerging information about the
variant was likely to turn the market's focus back to the shift in monetary
policy by the US Federal Reserve.

   "After all, if Omicron isn't going to be the pernicious force some first
thought it could be, then economic activity should continue to run at a
pretty healthy recovery pace that makes it clear the Fed's policy rate should
not be hanging out much longer at the zero bound," he said.

   With a Fed policy meeting looming next week, investors will be focused on
Friday's US consumer price index data as the central bank has signalled its
concern about rising inflation, which could lead to multiple rate hikes next
year.

   "We are looking to potentially have a rise in volatility even if the
market continues higher around those events next week," said Frances Stacy,
Optimal Capital portfolio strategist, on Bloomberg Television. "Many of the
catalysts that gave us this boom out of Covid are slowing. And then you have
the Fed potentially tapering into a decelerating economy."

   In mainland China, Shanghai and Shenzhen were up.

   Jakarta, Singapore and Seoul were also marginally up, while Wellington was
slightly down.

   Even an ongoing debt crisis in China's property sector did not appear to
be denting confidence.

   On Tuesday, real estate behemoth Evergrande missed a deadline to repay
some of its overseas creditors, raising the prospect of a default as it
prepares for a government-backed restructuring.

   The next day, another property firm Kaisa suspended trading just before
the opening bell.

   "A few months ago, Evergrande's failure to make bond repayments spooked
global markets and led to speculation of a potential crisis in China's
property and financial system," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ
Bell.

   "Now it seems as if markets have just accepted that Evergrande could
collapse and there is no panic."

   On Wednesday in New York, the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent,
helped by the BioNTech and Pfizer statements on Omicron.

   - Key figures around 0210 GMT -

   Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.09 percent at 28,835.97

   Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.02 percent at 24,241.47

   Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.48 percent at 3,655.21

   New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 35,754.75 (close)

   London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,337.05 (close)

   West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.40 percent at $72.65 per barrel

   Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.25 percent at $76.01 per barrel

   Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1135 from $1.1281

   Dollar/yen: UP at 113.75 yen from 113.47 yen

   Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3200 from 1.3248

   Euro/pound: UP at 85.87 pence from 85.15 pence