Asian shares are mostly higher, with Tokyo stocks gaining on expectations that a pandemic state of emergency will be lifted for all of Japan.
But shares fell in Hong Kong on Monday after police used tear gas to quell weekend protests over a proposed national security bill for the former British colony.Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox
The protests in Hong Kong, in response to legislation under discussion by China's National People's Congress, which is now meeting in Beijing, were the largest in months despite bans on large gathering meant to prevent spreading the coronavirus. Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was expected to announced later Monday that the state of emergency imposed to fight the pandemic will end nationwide after a panel of experts approved the plan.
Although people are wearing masks and having their temperatures taken at the doors of some public places, fears persist that a resumption of normal economic activity and fewer social distancing precautions will bring on a resurgence of infections. Fresh hopes for a U.S. economic recovery in the second half of the year and optimism about a potential vaccine for COVID-19 helped spur stocks higher for much of the week. Investors are betting, despite concerns over the risks of reigniting outbreaks of the virus, that the economy and corporate profits will begin to recover from the pandemic as the U.S. and countries around the world slowly open up again.
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