BEIJING – Asian stock markets fell Friday amid worries about rising coronavirus cases, Wall Street volatility and U.S.
economic aid plans. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul all retreated. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1%, recovering some of its loss from the previous day's 2.6% fall after American unemployment data were better than expected.
U.S. markets were roiled by a spate of trading by small investors of video game vendor GameStop that hurt hedge funds that bet the stock would fall.
Elsewhere, investors were watching virus infection spikes in Europe and Asia, renewed travel curbs and negotiations in Washington over President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion economic aid package. “We are still moving