A mild recovery from the previous two days' steep losses was turned on its head in the region on Tuesday after Moderna head Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that existing vaccines might not be as effective against the new coronavirus strain, owing to its multitude of mutations.

But other drugmakers later said it was far too early to make a judgement. The boss of BioNTech, which made a shot with Pfizer, said it was likely people would be protected against severe symptoms.

The less alarming outlook from other firms helped settle nerves slightly while news that Moderna, Pfizer and the backers of Russian vaccine Sputnik V are already working on an Omicron-specific vaccine also provided some solace.

With medical experts saying Omicron was still being assessed, analysts said markets would remain volatile.

"If by this time next week the medical gurus have concluded that existing vaccines are 'sufficient' and/or the Omicron virulence is milder than the current Delta variant, the market should bounce strongly," said strategist Louis Navellier.

"Conclusions the other way could weigh heavily on the current bullish outlook for 2022," he added.

"Such uncertainty will likely push some people to the sidelines who want to lock in the strong gains they've already booked for 2021."

Tokyo and Hong Kong, which both went south soon after the Bancel comments were released, saw much-needed gains.

Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Taipei also rose, and investors took heart from data showing factory activity across the region expanding last month.

Sydney, which closed before the interview was published Tuesday, slipped slightly -- though losses were pared by data showing Australia's economy shrank less than feared in the third quarter.

Manila and Jakarta sank, though US futures rose while London, Paris and Frankfurt opened higher.

- Fed tapering -

Crude -- which was pummelled Friday and again Tuesday on fears about possible new lockdowns and their impact on demand -- also enjoyed some advances with both main contracts up around four percent.

The broadly positive performance across Asia came after US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell put the central bank on the path to removing its vast financial support measures at a quicker pace than first flagged, and lifting interest rates next year.

With prices surging at the fastest pace in three decades, Powell told lawmakers that "clearly the risk of more persistent inflation has risen".

Having for the best part of the year insisted inflation was "transitory" owing to supply chain snarls and high energy costs, he for the first time omitted the word and said it was "appropriate, in my view, to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases... perhaps a few months sooner".

With the bond-buying programme put in place at the start of the pandemic -- key to the economic recovery -- likely to end sooner, analysts are now suggesting the bank could lift rates possibly twice by the end of 2022.

"In all likelihood the Fed will now ramp up their pace of tapering and possibly complete it by March, which leaves the potential for a rate hike to finally fend off inflation," said Matt Simpson at StoneX Financial.

- Key figures around 0820 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 27,935.62 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 23,658.92 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,576.89 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 7,116.90

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.8 percent at $68.70 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 4.1 percent at $72.05 per barrel

Dollar/yen: UP at 113.45 yen from 113.16 yen at 2125 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3322 from $1.3295

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1324 from $1.1336

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.02 pence from 85.23 pence

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.9 percent at 34,483.72 (close)

dan/qan

PFIZER

BioNTech