A woman walks past an electronic exchange of a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, December 20, 2021. Asian stock markets followed Wall Street down Monday as concerns over the latest variant of the coronavirus and stricter Federal Reserve policies.
A man looks at an electronic exchange of a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, December 20, 2021. Asian stock markets followed Wall Street down Monday as concerns over the latest variant of the coronavirus and stricter Federal Reserve policies.
People walk past an electronic exchange of a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, December 20, 2021. Asian stock markets followed Wall Street down Monday as concerns over the latest variant of the coronavirus and stricter Federal Reserve policies.
A man walks past an electronic exchange of a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, December 20, 2021. Asian stock markets followed Wall Street down Monday as concerns over the latest variant of the coronavirus and stricter Federal Reserve policies.
FILE – A Wall Street sign is seen next to surveillance equipment outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York on October 5, 2021. Shares fall in early trading on Monday, December 20, 2021 and continue a weak stretch as traders keep a vigilant eye on the rise in COVID-19 cases around the world. Traders also got word over the weekend that a key U.S. Senator would not support President Joe Biden’s $ 2 trillion domestic spending, calling into question their passage.
By ELAINE KURTENBACH – AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) – Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday after a global slump in financial markets was sparked by concerns about how hard the Omikron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the global economy.
Tokyo gained nearly 2% and other benchmarks in Asia were also higher.
Much of the concern about the outlook was sparked by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The number of cases in Europe and the US has skyrocketed. Federal health officials announced last week that they accounted for 73% of new infections, a nearly six-fold increase in just seven days.
In Asia, coronavirus cases have increased in Australia and South Korea as governments tightened precautionary measures to prevent or contain outbreaks.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 2% to 28,496.83 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 22,798.23. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,972.79, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,601.53. In Sydney, the S & P / ASX 200 climbed 0.4% to 7,323.90.
Stocks fell globally on Monday. Oil producer stocks helped the price of US crude oil fall 3.7% amid fears that the latest variant of the coronavirus could make factories, planes and motorists use less fuel.
