Desk Report
Publish: 30 Dec 2021, 10:56 am
Representational Image || Photo: Collected
Asian stocks were mostly flat on Thursday in cautious trade
following a mixed close on Wall Street and ahead of year-end holidays.
Fears of the Omicron coronavirus variant also weighed on
markets, with the United States hitting its highest-ever average of new Covid
cases and the World Health Organization warning that a "tsunami" of
infections would push health systems to the brink of collapse.
But investors have also clung to data showing a reduced risk
of hospitalization, as well as the reality that trading volumes are extremely low
in the period between Christmas and New Year.
"Despite global surges in Covid cases, the markets are
reflecting the new reality that Covid is here to stay albeit more on our terms
than its," Kevin Philip, managing director at Bel Air Investment Advisors,
said in an email.
Next year, "we are facing less of a Covid-influenced
world, and a return toward normalcy", he added.
Tokyo was marginally down in early trade, while Hong Kong
was slightly up. Shanghai was up by about one percent.
Among stocks bucking the trend was Chinese artificial
intelligence start-up SenseTime, which jumped by more than 10 percent on its
Hong Kong debut, a week after it was blacklisted by the United States over
accusations of genocide in Xinjiang.
"Ahead of year-end and New Year holidays, the number of
market participants is low and trade will likely remain lethargic," Mizuho
Securities said.
"The markets continue to reassess the economic impact
of the Omicron variant," analysts at Schwab said in a note.
"With market activity much reduced for the holiday
season, investors continue to tentatively price in a global recovery hitting a
minor bump, and not a pothole," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst
at OANDA trading group.
"It's a positive drift in a thinly traded market,"
said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. "There's really no news driving
the market today."
A day earlier, London's FTSE 100 outshone other markets,
rising 0.7 percent to hit a nearly two-year high as UK traders returned from a
long holiday.
But the traditional post-Christmas bullish mood waned in
Asia and the eurozone, with markets there finishing lower.
The picture was also mixed on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq retreated even as both the Dow and S&P 500 edged to fresh records.
- Key figures around 0300 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.07 percent at 28,886.09 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.52 percent at 23,213.12
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.80 percent at 3,625.67
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1347 from $1.1302
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3499 from $1.3430
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.06 pence from 84.16 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.01 yen at 114.77 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.50 percent at $76.94 per
barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.52 percent at $79.64 per barrel
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 4,793.06 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,420.69 (close)
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Topic : Omicron Asian Market
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