Asian stock markets closed with no single direction this Tuesday (22), in a session in which investors remained focused on the problems faced by China to contain the recent increase in cases of Covid-19 in the country.
The trend tempered market anticipation for an eventual full reopening and rule changes to Beijing’s “Covid-zero” policy.
The Shanghai Composite index closed at a slight increase of 0.13%, at 3,088.94 points, while the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite retreated 1.29%, at 2,002.39 points. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped sharply by 1.31%, at 17,424.41 points.
Investors are “worried about falling demand as a result of a less mobile Chinese economy amid fears that there will be more Covid-19-related lockdowns,” summarizes Fawad Razaqzada of StoneX in a report.
After enforcing mass quarantines and testing in Baiyun and Huizhu districts in the metropolis of Guangzhou, authorities tightened security measures for factory workers in the city of Shijiazhuang, located southwest of the capital Beijing.
In Hong Kong, stocks in the retail sector were among the hardest hit due to the Covid-19 situation in China. Meituan led the way down 8.26%, while Alibaba shed 4.01%.
The real estate sector also did not perform well, with Country Garden Holdings (-6.05%) among the main decliners. “Positioning for a rise in Chinese equities will have to wait longer,” comments analyst Anderson Alves of ActivTrades.
Among other markets, the Nikkei index, of the Tokyo stock exchange, advanced 0.61%, to 28,115.74 points, while the South Korean Kospi yielded 0.59%, to 2,405.27 points. In addition to the situation in China, the South Korean stock exchange was pressured by the retreat of technology stocks in the after hours of the New York stock exchanges. Fintech Kakaopay plunged 7.5%, while Samsung Electronics dropped 1.3%.
Finally, the Taiwanese Taiex closed up 0.64%, at 14,542.20 points, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.59%, at 7,181.30 points.
Source: CNN Brasil
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