S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 24.00 points to 7,280.00, Nikkei 225 dropped below 28,100, South Korea tumbled 1.3 percent, Singapore shed 1 percent, while China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each
Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Monday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, on sinking oil prices and lingering concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which seems to be spreading faster than other strains now in 89 countries.
The resultant imposition of strict restrictions to curb the spread of the infection might slow down the pace of global economic recovery. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday.
The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending the weakness in the previous five sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 below the 7,300 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with weakness across most sectors, particularly materials, financial and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 24.00 points or 0.33 percent to 7,280.00, after hitting a low of 7,257.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.10 points or 0.46 percent to 7,591.10. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.
The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Monday, extending the sharp losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 below the 28,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with weakness across most sectors amid continuing concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Bank of Japan’s decision to taper corporate debt purchases to pre-pandemic levels and to scale back some emergency funding schemes upon reaching the March 2022 deadline is also hurting market sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index ended the morning session at 28,055.28, down 490.40 points or 1.72 percent, after hitting a low of 28,015.05 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is tumbling 1.3 percent and Singapore is shedding 1 percent, while China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. New Zealand is bucking the trend and is up 0.2 percent.
