· Asian shares fall as Delta variant casts shadow over growth
Asian shares failed to catch a firm lead from a bumper Wall Street session on Friday as the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus across the region heightened worries about the its economic recovery.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) lost 0.35%, dragged down by Chinese blue chips.
China on Friday reported 124 confirmed cases for Aug. 5, its highest daily count for new coronavirus cases in the current outbreak, fuelled by a surge in locally transmitted infections. Authorities have imposed travel restrictions in some cities. read more
Thailand and Malaysia both reported record daily cases on Thursday.
· China shares slip on regulatory concerns, eye weekly gains
China shares fell on Friday on worries over tightening government regulations but were still set for their biggest weekly gain in six following a sharp drop last week.
The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.48% at 3,449.85 points. That trimmed its gains for the week to 1.5%, its biggest since late June, after slumping 4.3% last week.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.73%, cutting its weekly gain to 2.1% - also the biggest since late June. The index fell 5.5% last week.
S&P downgrades China Evergrande again to 'CCC'
Huawei chairman says the ‘aim is to survive’ as revenue slides 30%
China’s Xiaomi overtook Samsung and Apple in June smartphones sales
· Nikkei edges higher, set for best week since May-end on strong earnings
The Nikkei stock average inched higher on Friday, on track for its best weekly jump in more than two months on strong earnings, but broadly markets were mixed as traders adjusted positions ahead of key U.S. jobs data later in the day and a long weekend in Japan.
The Nikkei ended the morning session 0.06% higher at 27,744.24, while the broader Topix slipped 0.1% to 1,927.10.
Shares of South Korea’s Kakao Bank surged in their Friday debut, rising as high as 77.95% from the issue price. Some of those gains were later pared, but the stock was still last trading more than 70% higher. South Korea’s broader Kospi slipped 0.3%.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, shares of Indonesian e-commerce firm Bukalapak made their trading debut Friday, jumping 25% from an initial public offering price of 850 rupiah ($0.06) to 1,060 rupiah.
The price move triggered the stock exchange’s auto rejection mechanism and the price stayed at 1,060 as of 11:38 a.m. local time.
Those gains outpaced the wider Jakarta Composite in Indonesia, which slipped 0.14%.
· Indian shares edge higher after central bank keeps rates steady
The NSE Nifty 50 index and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex both gained 0.2% at 16,333 and 54,625.63, respectively.
· Thai baht leads most Asian currencies lower
· European stocks flat as investors track earnings, Covid-19 and economic data
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered just below the flatline in early trade, with insurance stocks climbing 0.4% while oil and gas slipped 0.4% amid a quiet start to the session.
· Citi calls for 10-year at 2%
Citi Research downgraded U.S. equities to neutral in a Wednesday note, warning that an uptick in interest rates to 2% on the 10-year Treasury yield could threaten the tech-heavy domestic market.
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