TOKYO, Dec. 29 (BNA): Asian stocks mostly fell on Wednesday, as concerns about the possible harm of the omicron coronavirus variable on the regional economy persisted after mixed signals from Wall Street.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% in morning trading to 28,809.86. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,993.38, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.2% to 7,510.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% to 23076.75, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.8% to 3601.54.
Although Asia has relatively few reported cases of the omicron variant compared to the United States and Europe, concerns are growing that omicron will spread rapidly, once it starts. The vaccination rate in Japan is about 80%, but booster injections have barely begun.
“The broader point is that no matter how the ‘changing risks’ occur, the process of exiting the COVID tunnel will be fraught with heat more than light, which means problems such as ‘barriers to unfettered global travel,’ which will hamper any Mizuho Bank’s Vishnu Varathan at Report The recovery, according to the Press Agency (AP).
Wall Street had a volatile day of trading, which pushed the S&P 500 Index below its record high. The benchmark index fell 0.1 percent after it hesitated between modest gains and losses. The slight loss interrupted a four-day winning streak for the index, which hit an all-time high on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%.
Nearly 60% of companies in the S&P 500 rose, but slides in technology, healthcare, and communications stocks outpaced gains in industrial companies, home goods makers and elsewhere in the market. Small-cap stocks also fell, sending the Russell 2000 Index down 0.7%.
“We’ve had four straight days of bullish movement,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment analyst at CFRA. Investors are keeping their fingers crossed so tightly that we will end up with a positive spike in ‘Santa Claus’.
This is what Wall Street calls a rally in the last five days in December and the first two trading days in January. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has risen an average of 1.3% over those seven days. If the “Santa Claus high” does not reach, some traders see it as an omen that stocks may fall in the next year.
The S&P 500 fell 4.84 points to 4,786.35. The Dow Jones index rose 95.83 points to 36,398.21 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 89.54 points to 15,781.72. Russell 2000 lost 14.95 points to 2,246.51.
Major US stock indices are heading to close out 2021 with solid gains. The S&P 500 is up 27.4% with three trading days remaining this year.
Tech companies, which did well on Monday, advanced declining stocks in the S&P 500. Graphics chip maker Nvidia slipped 2%.
Shares of healthcare and telecom services also affected the market. Pfizer shares fell 2% and modernized 2.2%. Twitter fell 2%.
Industrial companies and home goods makers were among the best performers. Boeing shares rose 1.5 percent, and Campbell Soup rose 2.8 percent, the biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor’s 500.
Airlines shares regained some of their losses this month. American Airlines shares rose 2%, United Airlines rose 1.5% and Delta Airlines closed 1.6% higher.
Much remains uncertain about omicron, which is spreading very quickly and leading to a return to epidemic restrictions in some places. The variant quickly became the dominant breed around the world. While lockdowns and travel restrictions related to the virus remain a major concern, most large investors have closed their positions for 2021 and are likely to continue operating until next week.
HF