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| - Stock markets were mixed Wednesday after the previous strong run-up, with profit-taking playing against vaccine prospects and renewed hopes for a fresh US stimulus. Britain became the first Western country to approve a vaccine as it gave the go-ahead to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for rollout from "next week", while several other pharma giants have submitted theirs in the US and Europe, fanning optimism that the world economy can finally get back on course in 2021. And in a sign that the outlook is improving despite the coronavirus still surging, the OECD said it expects this year's contraction to be slightly less than previously forecast. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each surged to fresh records as traders returned to buying after taking a breather Monday following a blockbuster November. Asia struggled to build on Tuesday's strong gains. Tokyo, Sydney and Taipei rose, while Seoul, Manila and Jakarta put on more than one percent but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Singapore, Bangkok and Wellington all fell. London, Paris and Frankfurt all dipped at the open. Still, Kathryn Rooney Vera at Bulltick LLC told Bloomberg TV: "Markets are closing out a phenomenally volatile year in a euphoric manner. Markets are in a full bull scenario." Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the first vaccine Wednesday and it would be "made available across the UK from next week". The drug, which was shown to be 95 percent effective in trials, will first be given to care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable. While vaccine hopes -- and the expected economic recovery they fuel -- continue to be the main driver for equities, investors were given an extra boost Tuesday when a bipartisan group of lawmakers offered a $908 billion compromise to pass a much-needed US rescue package. The move comes amid fears that millions of Americans will lose crucial financial support over the festive period. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put to his Republican party a proposal offering $500 billion in relief, including $332 billion for small businesses, saying "waiting until next year is not an answer". President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his economic team and called for immediate relief, while his Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen warned that "inaction will produce a self-reinforcing downturn causing yet more devastation". "So many people are struggling to put food on the table and pay bills and rent. It's an American tragedy," she said. Meanwhile, current Treasury boss Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell again urged Congress to provide more aid. Powell, with an eye on fiscal conservatives, stressed that the "risk of overdoing it" is far outweighed by the risk of not doing enough. "Additional fiscal relief would really help to guard against" a worse downturn, he added. David Madden of CMC Markets said that both parties appeared to be moving closer in their proposals, adding that "things seem to be heading in the right direction". The OECD club of wealthy countries predicted the world economy would shrink 4.2 percent this year, slightly better than the 4.5 percent previously tipped, but added it would grow a similar amount in 2021. Its chief economist Laurence Boone said "there is now hope for a brighter future". However, there is less optimism on oil markets, with both contracts dropping after OPEC and other major producers failed to reach an agreement on extending output cuts that have provided support to the commodity through the pandemic. They said they would meet again on Thursday. "The timing could not have been worse for OPEC+ to drop the ball given the moon shoot reflationary (period) unfolding in what could very well be the start of a December to remember," said Axi strategist Stephen Innes. Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 26,800.98 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,532.58 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,449.55 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,373.61 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2086 from $1.2068 at 2200 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3437 from $1.3423 Dollar/yen: UP at 104.46 yen from 104.32 yen Euro/pound: UP at 89.94 pence from 89.87 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $44.42 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $47.36 per barrel New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 29,823.92 (close) dan/mtp
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