· Japan stocks fall nearly 2% as Asia-Pacific shares slide after Covid worries resurface in region
Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Friday trade as Covid worries resurfaced in the region.
· Japanese shares fall to 8-week low on growth slowdown worries
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 led losses among the region’s major markets as it fell 1.7% in afternoon trade while the Topix index shed 1.48%.
Japanese shares fell to a near eight-week low on Friday, on worries over a slowing economic recovery after the country declared a COVID-19 emergency, but losses were trimmed on hopes that the Bank of Japan might have stepped in to support the market.
The Nikkei share average fell 0.63% to close at 27,940.42, after losing as much as 2.48% earlier in the session. The index, losing 2.9% this week, closed below the 28,000 mark for the first time since May 17.
The broader Topix dropped 0.41% to 1,912.38.
· Asian stocks hit 2-month lows as Delta variant revives COVID-19 scare
Asian shares stumbled to two-month lows on Friday and were set for their worst weekly performance since mid-May as confidence took a battering over the global spread of the Delta virus variant and worries it could stall a worldwide economic revival.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.52%. South Korea announced Friday that the greater Seoul area will be placed under the toughest social distancing rules of Level 4, according to local news agency Yonhap.
Australian stocks also declined as the S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.29%. The city of Sydney earlier this week announced that Covid-19 restrictions would be extended by another week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.53% lower.
· China stocks fall after inflation data; Hong Kong up
China stocks fell on Friday, and are on track to post a weekly loss, as data showed the country’s annual factory gate inflation remained uncomfortably high and underlined growing strains on the economy.
The CSI300 index fell 1.1% to 5,034.76 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.7% to 3,501.16 points.
· European stocks move higher after global sell-off on recovery concerns
European stocks traded higher on Friday morning despite a global sell-off on concerns about the economic recovery.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading 0.7% higher in early deals. The index had slid nearly 2% on Thursday, with retailers dropping 3.2% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid deep into negative territory.
Autos and travel stocks were leading the gains, up by more than 1%.
The travel sector has been hit hard by Covid restrictions, but news on Thursday that the U.K. is easing some of the quarantine rules is supporting the sector in early Friday trading.
The U.K. government said that double-vaccinated people will be allowed to travel without having to self-isolate on their return, unless they are traveling from a high-level risk country. The government also said it was working to lift quarantine rules for double-vaccinated people visiting the U.K.
· Jim Cramer blames market sell-off on government failures to contain delta spread
CNBC’s Jim Cramer came out swinging on Thursday, blaming the market sell-off on world governments and slamming leaders for failing to get a grip on the spread of a Covid-19 variant.
Major U.S. stock averages all plunged almost 1% during the session, dropping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes from record highs. Health concerns also led to a drop in bond yields to levels not seen since February.
The declines can be attributed to the delta strain that’s spreading quickly across the globe, Cramer said.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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