Asian stocks close lower, with Covid-19 in China and US CPI on the radar

At asian bags closed lower this Tuesday (12), after a round of losses in Wall Street with investors showing risk aversion amid concerns over the Covid-19 situation in China and before the publication of new US inflation data.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell 1.77% in Tokyo to 26,336.66 points, while the Hang Seng dropped 1.32% in Hong Kong to 20,844.74 points.

The South Korean Kospi had a drop of 0.96% in Seoul, to 2,317.76 points, and the Taiex registered an even more expressive drop in Taiwan, of 2.72%, to 13,950.62 points.

In mainland China, markets were similarly in the red, pressured by fears that new outbreaks of covid-19 will lead to the resumption of severe restriction measures.

The Shanghai Composite is down 0.97% to 3,281.47 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite is down 1.45% to 2,155.56 points.

This Monday, New York stock exchanges started the week in a negative tone, awaiting the latest figures from the US consumer price index (CPI, its acronym in English), which will be released on Wednesday (13) and should be “highly high”, according to the US government.

Soaring inflation has forced the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates, which in turn has fueled recession fears.

The divergence between the policies of the Fed and the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which maintains an ultra-accommodative stance, weighs heavily on the yen, which is operating at its lowest levels since 1998.

After meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said they would “cooperate on currency issues” as appropriate.

In Oceania, the Australian stock exchange bucked the negative trend in Asia today, but was practically stable and close to the low of the trading session. The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.06% in Sydney to 6,606.30 points.

With information from Dow Jones Newswires