Asian mkts recoup losses from Omicron sell-off
New variant may be the scariest force hitting markets, but it's not the only one. A proposed $2 trillion spending program by the US government took a potential death blow over the weekend when an influential senator said he could not support it
image for illustrative purpose
Bangkok: Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday after a worldwide slump for financial markets spurred by worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the world economy. Tokyo gained nearly two per cent and other benchmarks in Asia also were higher. Much of the concern over the outlook has been driven by the omicron variant of Coronavirus. Cases have skyrocketed in Europe and in the US, federal health officials have announced it accounted for 73 per cent of new infections last week, a nearly six-fold increase in only seven days.
In Asia, cases of Coronavirus have surged in Australia and South Korea, as governments tighten precautions to prevent or curb outbreaks. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 2 per cent to 28,496.83 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3 per cent to 22,798.23. In Seoul, the Kospi gained 0.3 per cent to 2,972.79, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.2 per cent to 3,601.53.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4 per cent to 7,323.90. Shares fell around the world on Monday. Stocks of oil producers helped lead the way lower after the price of US crude fell 3.7 per cent on concerns the newest Coronanvirus variant could lead factories, airplanes and drivers to burn less fuel. Oil prices advanced early Tuesday, with US crude gaining 81 cents to $69.42 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, rose 69 cents to $72.21 per barrel.
Omicron may be the scariest force hitting markets, but it's not the only one. A proposed $2 trillion spending program by the US government took a potential death blow over the weekend when an influential senator said he could not support it. Markets are also still absorbing last week's momentous move by the Federal Reserve to more quickly remove the aid it's throwing at the economy, because of rising inflation. They all combined to drag the benchmark S&P 500 1.1 per cent lower to 4,568.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2 per cent, to 34,932.16. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.2 per cent, to 14,980.94.
