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| - Most stock markets in the US and Europe were in the black Friday as coronavirus vaccine hopes outweighed worries over spiking infections in Europe and the United States, dealers said. Asian bourses, however, took a hit as traders feared that another wave of Covid-19 lockdown measures will throw a shaky economic recovery off course. In New York, the Dow Jones index had added 0.7 percent minutes after the opening bell while most European markets were slightly higher in afternoon trading. London bucked the trend with the FTSE 100 index down 0.6 percent on the back of a stronger pound, which hits share prices of multinational companies that earn vast sums in dollars. Sterling climbed on growing EU trade deal hopes after reports that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top advisor and Brexit mastermind Dominic Cummings will leave later this year. That development "has raised speculation that the balance has tilted a little towards in favour of a deal than no deal," suggested Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with ThinkMarkets. "Equity markets started off in the red this morning but they have been driving higher ... and most European indices are in positive territory," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden. "The pandemic might not have the same negative impact on equities that it used to, seeing as there has been great progress made with respect to the drug that Pfizer and BioNTech are developing." US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech on Monday revealed that their candidate for a Covid-19 vaccine had been 90 percent effective. "The key question is whether investors, who in recent months have largely been ignoring the pandemic, will pay much attention to the deteriorating situation, or whether hopes over a vaccine will continue to offset those economic worries," said Razaqzada. Hong Kong and Shanghai were hit earlier in the day by news that US President Donald Trump had signed an order banning Americans from investing in Chinese firms that could help the country's military and security apparatus. The executive order, to take effect on January 11, said Beijing obliges private firms to support these activities and through capital markets "exploits United States investors to finance the development and modernization of its military". Adding to the downbeat mood are concerns that a new US stimulus is unlikely to be passed before Biden moves into the White House. With Trump continuing to reject defeat and concede, reports said he has stepped back from talks on a new round of spending for the beleaguered economy. New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 29,295.17 points London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,303.58 Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.1 percent at 13,069.17 Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 5,370.33 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,429.99 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,385.87 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,156.86 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,310.10 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1820 from $1.1806 at 2200 GMT Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3160 from $1.3118 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.73 yen from 105.13 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.83 pence from 89.99 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3 percent at $30.38 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $43.07 per barrel dan-rfj/cdw/wai
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