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Asian stocks close lower on fears of Covid-19 in China

Asian stock markets closed lower on Monday (21), with the exception of Tokyo, as they ponder the impacts of the current wave of Covid-19 cases in China, which has worsened in recent days and caused local authorities to order new ones. lockdowns🇧🇷

Pullbacks also occur after flags hawkish of directors of the main central banks of the world.

This Sunday, China announced the first death by Covid-19 in the country in the last six months, at a time of rising cases in the nation. According to the country’s National Health Commission, more than 26,000 cases were identified today, the highest count in seven months, and two more patients died from the disease.

In response, authorities resumed restricting the movement of the population in certain regions, such as the Baiyun district, in the Guangzhou metropolis, which will be quarantined until the 25th.

In Huizhu district, a new round of mass testing has been ordered, amid reports of workers being denied entry to their homes, the local government said on Sunday.

With the worsening in infections, Oxford Economics predicts that China will only leave the Covid-zero policy for good in the second half of 2023, in a more cautious stance than the market expects. Until then, Beijing will adopt some changes, in a kind of phased approach towards a more comprehensive reopening.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange closed down 0.39%, at 3,085.04 points, while the smaller Shenxhen Composite Index had a slight retreat of 0.04%, at 2,028.51 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell by 1.87%, to 17,655.91 points, with shares of restaurants and retailers among the main ones penalized. Restaurant operator Haidilao International Holding, for example, tumbled 7.13%, and Chow Tai Fook Jewelery Group lost 6% today.

Another concern for investors in Asia, the aggressive tone of Federal Reserve (Fed) leaders moderates market expectations that the cycle of monetary tightening in the US may end soon.

With that, the high-tech sector led the losses of the South Korean Kospi index today, which fell 1.02%, to 2,419.50 points. Among stocks, Sebang Battery shed 9.94% and LG Energy Solution shed 4.2%.

Exception this Monday, the Nikkei index, Tokyo, had a modest rise of 0.16%, to 27,944.79. Among other markets, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.38% to 14,449.39 points and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.17% to 7,139.30 points.

Source: CNN Brasil

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