Asian shares ease from stimulus-driven rally

Asian share markets eased from milestone peaks on Friday. The weak session could be attributed to investors’ move of taking profits after President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion worth of stimulus plan lifted sentiment.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan plunged further, ending its afternoon session with a 0.6% decline. The drop came after the index recorded three consecutive sessions of gains. Despite its weak performance, it still tallied an impressive 8.8% jump in January to seal an all-time peak of 727.31 on Thursday.

Investors’ dampened mood was partly due to an increase in coronavirus cases in China, with the government implementing new virus restrictions. However, analysts expect that the weak session would not last long as they see a strong upswing in global growth brought by ultra-low interest rates across the globe.