· Danske Bank shares up after U.S. Treasury drops investigation
Shares in Danske Bank rose 3% in early trade on Monday after it said on Saturday that it is no longer under investigation by the U.S. Department of Treasury for alleged money-laundering in its Estonia branch.
Danske Bank is still being investigated by other authorities in the United States, France and Denmark.
· Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese chipmaker SMIC drop more than 3%
Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded mixed on Monday, as the coronavirus situation in parts of North Asia remains serious.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined about 0.5%, as of its final hour of trading. Hong Kong-listed shares of China’s largest chipmaker SMIC dropped more than 3% after the firm was recently added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s entity list, limiting its ability to access certain U.S. technology.
Shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 down fractionally on the day to 6,669.90. The downward moves came as the other states imposed travel restrictions on Sydney, leaving the country’s most populous city was isolated from the rest of the nation amid a growing cluster of coronavirus cases, according to Reuters.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded dipped 0.14%.
· Japan shares fall from 29-1/2-year peak on renewed virus concern
Japanese shares closed lower on Monday, slipping from a 29-1/2-year high hit earlier in the session, as concerns about a spike in domestic coronavirus cases and the emergence of a new strain of the virus in Britain weighed on sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 0.18% at 26,714.42, after hitting its highest since April 1991 at the opening bell.
The broader Topix also fell 0.23% to 1,789.05.
New coronavirus infections have been rising to record levels in Tokyo and other major cities.
European countries are blocking travel from Britain after a new strain of coronavirus was identified that is up to 70% more infectious.
Faltering trade negotiations between Britain and the European Union and a rising yen dragging down Japanese exporters also hit sentiment.
The combination of negative factors suggests that Tokyo shares will likely end 2020 on the back foot, after rallying 64% from this year’s lows in March.
· China stocks climb as Beijing pledges continued policy support
China stocks closed higher on Monday, as investors cheered Beijing’s continued policy support to shore up its economy hurt by the coronavirus crisis.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.9% to end at 5,046.84, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8%to 3,420.57.
China will maintain policy support for its economic recovery, avoiding a sudden shift in policy, to help keep economic growth within a reasonable range in 2021, the Xinhua news agency said on Friday, after a meeting of top leaders ended.
· European stocks fall sharply amid jitters over new coronavirus strain; Travel stocks down 5%
European markets plunged on Monday as investors monitor a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus strain that has shut down much of the U.K.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 2.1% at the start of trading, with travel and leisure stocks plummeting 5% as all sectors and major bourses fell sharply into negative territory.
Traders are nervously watching the new Covid mutation in the U.K., which has resulted in a tough lockdown in London and other parts of southeast England and a U-turn on the mixing of households during Christmas.
The variant is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the disease. The World Health Organization said it has so far been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia.
It led to several countries in Europe and elsewhere to block travel from Britain. France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands all barred flights from the U.K., while Canada and Israel have done the same.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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