Asian Markets Mostly Higher in Next-to-Last Day of 2020

Asian markets are mostly higher Wednesday as investors are looking ahead to the new year with optimism after a turbulent 2020.

Indexes posting solid gains include the Composite in Shanghai, which finished just over one percent; the KOSPI in Seoul, which soared 1.8%, and the TSEC in Taipei, which earned 1.4%.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei index in Tokyo lost 0.4%, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX dropped 0.2%.

In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s index, the Hang Seng, is up 1.6%, while the Sensex in Mumbai is 0.2% lower.

In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,885.40 an ounce, up 0.1%. U.S. crude oil is selling at $48.41 an ounce, up 0.8%, and Brent crude oil is selling at $51.39, up 0.5%.

In futures trading, all three major U.S. indices are trending positively.