Mainland China Markets on The Fall
Despite strong inflation data establishing market expectations for rate rises, Asia-Pacific markets mainly declined on Thursday, while Wall Street gained. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned that omicron cases are “off the charts,” highlighting COVID’s fears. In the afternoon, Chinese markets widened their losses. The Shanghai composite index slid 1.17 % to 3,555.26, while the Shenzhen component dropped over 2% to 14,138.34. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.15 % after climbing earlier.
Outlook on The Asian Market
The sale should earn $4.52 billion Hong Kong dollars. The business states that half of the revenues would be used to repay debts, and the other half would be used for other corporate reasons. After the firm indicated that it might not pay its debts and other commitments, Genting Hong Kong’s stock dropped by nearly 57 %. The Nikkei 225 index slid 0.96 % to settle at 28,489.13, after rising over 2% on Wednesday, while the Topix index fell 0.68 % to 2,005.58. Major retailers saw losses, with Seven & I down 3.28 % and Fast Retailing down roughly 2%.
In South Korea, the Kospi closed at 2,962.09, down 0.35 %. The ASX 200 index in Australia defied the trend, increasing 0.48 % to settle at 7,474.40. Gains were seen in financials and large miners. Rio Tinto increased its share price by 4.13 %, while BHP increased by 3.83 %.
Investors will also be watching developments in COVID, as the World Health Organization announced a record 15 million new COVID-19 cases in a single week, as omicron quickly replaces delta as the main variation throughout the world.
Pandemic and Inflation
According to data released on Wednesday, inflation in the United States increased by 7% in December, the highest level since 1982. Regardless of the report, equities soared. For the third day in a row, the S&P 500 jumped 0.28 % to 4,726.35, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.23 % to 15,188.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded with a gain of 38.3 points, or 0.11 %, at 36,290.32, after bouncing back and forth between tiny gains and losses during the day.
