Asian Markets trade mostly lower in early deals on Wednesday

05 Jan 2022 Evaluate
Most of the Asian equity benchmarks traded lower in early deals on Wednesday, as the investments narrowed on caution ahead to Fed meet and on lingering concerns over rampant spread of Omicron Coronavirus all over the globe. Profit taking after previous sessional gains also resulted the retreat. Moreover, news that North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast also dampened the investor sentiments. Oil stocks advanced with the gains in crude oil after reports that OPEC and its allies agreed to a scheduled increase in production for next month. Heng Seng topped in loss among Asian indices with hefty sell off in technological sector stocks on worries followed by the news Tencent Holdings will keep cutting its stakes in a host of companies following several recent billion-dollar divestment plans. Japanese tech shares wilted following an overnight sell off on Nasdaq, as growth-oriented names came under pressure from rising US Treasury yields. However, Japan’s Nikkei inched higher with the lift in exports as yen eased to a five year low level and as market participants got optimistic after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida affirmed to speed up Covid vaccine booster shots, secure imported supplies of Covid antiviral drugs and reorganize medical facilities to respond to the fast-spreading omicron variant. Major gainers in the session are Kawasaki Kisen with 5% gain and Nippon Yusen with 2% rise.

Straight times dipped by 11.87 points or 0.37% to 3,169.26, Hang Seng shrunk by 197.01 points or 0.85% to 23,092.83, Taiwan Weighted curtailed by 50.12 points or 0.27% to 18,476.23, Jakarta Composite slipped by 33.34 points or 0.50% to 6,662.03, KOSPI narrowed by 46.62 points or 1.56% to 2,942.62, and Shanghai Composite fell by 29.59 points or 0.81% to 3,602.74.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 up by 21.50 points or 0.07% to 29,323.29 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI higher by 3.83 points or 0.25% to 1,545.73.

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