BANGKOK – Asian stocks were lower on Monday as investors cautiously rose over the recent rise in coronavirus cases in many places, while vaccination efforts are making little progress.
On Monday, at the beginning of trading, Nikkei 225 NIK,
in Tokyo lost 0.5% and Kospi in South Korea 180721,
0.1% higher. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng HSI index,
decreased by 1% and the Shanghai SHCOMP composite index,
sunk 0.8%. S & P / ASX 200 XJO from Australia,
gave up 0.5%. Stocks rose in Taiwan Y9999,
but fell into the Singapore STI,
and Indonesia JAKIDX,
Shares in SK Innovation Co. 096770 from South Korea,
jumped 14% after reaching a settlement of a trade dispute with rival LG Energy Solution. The companies have pledged to work together to strengthen the US EV battery supply chain, continuing plans to build batteries in Georgia in what President Joe Biden called “a victory for American workers and the US auto industry.”
Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba 9988,
were 6% higher after the company said it was fined $ 2.8 billion for anti-competitive behavior. The punishment was less than feared, coming as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over the fast-growing technology industries.
The declines in Asia came to a sharp end last week on Wall Street, where gains in technology and healthcare stocks pushed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average to new highs.
A moderation in bond yields has helped restore confidence that the Federal Reserve will soon move to raise interest rates to keep inflation under control as the economy recovers from pandemic shocks.
But in Asia, the recurrence of infections undermines confidence in this trajectory.
The main Chinese disease control official said over the weekend that the effectiveness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines has been low and the government plans to mix them up to get a boost. It was a rare admission and comes as the country continues to fight the outbreaks of the virus that were first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Japan struggles to control infections as it prepares to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Thai health officials warn that the daily rate of new infections could exceed 28,000 if urgent action is not taken to counter the worst outbreak. of the country so far.
“The launch of the vaccine remains slow in Asia, but what is more worrying is a renewed divergence in the number of virus cases, with the second wave set to take place in India, the Philippines and now Thailand,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report. This “continues to tarnish global travel prospects,” he said.
Friday, S&P 500 SPX,
rose 0.8% to a fourth-record high this week, closing at 4,128.80. The Dow DJIA,
rose 0.9% to 33,800.60, while the Nasdaq COMP composite,
increased by 0.5% to 13,900.19.
The yield on the US Treasury’s 10-year note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, was constant at 1.65%. It closed at 1.66% on Friday and reached 1.75% last month.
In other transactions, US reference oil CLK21,
rose 4 cents to $ 59.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 28 cents to $ 59.32 a barrel on Friday. Brent gross BRNM21,
international standard, earned 4 cents at $ 62.99 a barrel.
US Dollar USDJPY,
bought 109.54 Japanese yen, down from 109.71 yen on Friday.