Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday as investors monitored a COVID wave in China.
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to be volatile amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 145.07 points, or 0.6%, to close Monday at 25,307.85.
In Asia, the Bank of Japan is also set to announce its monetary policy decision later in the week.
The Japanese yen traded at 117.79 per U.S. dollar after last week’s weakening from below 116 against the greenback.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index shed 1,022.13 points, or 5%, to 19,531.66, leading losses among the region’s major markets as Chinese tech stocks took a beating: Tencent fell 9.8%, Alibaba slipped 10.9% and Meituan plunged 16.8%.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7246 after slipping from above $0.732 late last week.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 let go of 131.76 points, or 3.1%, to 4,174.76.
China is currently undergoing a wave of COVID infections — its worst outbreak since the country clamped down on the pandemic in 2020, and major cities including Shenzhen are rushing to limit business activity. Across Shenzhen’s border, the special administrative region of Hong Kong has also been battling a resurgence in Covid cases in recent weeks.
Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, slipped 1% as the major Apple supplier announced Monday it has suspended operations in China’s Shenzhen city to comply with local Covid restrictions, according to Reuters. Taiwan’s Taiex finished the trading day little changed at 17,263.04.
In other markets,
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 17.64 points, or 0.5%, to 3,232.03
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 15.63 points, or 0.6%, to 2,645.65.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index inched back 1.7 points to 17,263.04.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 16.27 points, or 0.1%, to 11,805.11.
In Australia, the ASX 200 picked up 85.8 points, or 1.2%, to 7,149.40.
