Asian Stock Market: Falls for second day on Delta virus variant fears
- Asia-pacific indices extended losses on Tuesday on the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
- Many countries impose fresh lockdown after rising cases, posing a threat to economic recovery.
- Beijing and Canberra at loggerheads on trade dispute, WTO confirms.
Asian stocks edge lower consecutively for the second session. Investors remain pessimistic and avoid riskier assets on concerns of a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the region.
Wall Street hit a new high on tech stock gains as financial stocks dipped.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.11% while hovering near recent highs.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% as tension escalates between China and Australia, the two biggest trade partners in the region. The WTO confirmed on Monday that Australia had filed a formal complaint about China’s import duties on its wine imports.
Kospi shed 0.5%, S&P ASX200 lost 0.5%, and Hong Kongs’ Hang Seng lost 1%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 0.1% after the domestic data showed that the unemployment rate rose 3% in May, the highest reading since December 2020.
It is worth noting that S&P 500 Futures were trading at 4,290, up 0.23% for the day.
The US dollar remains elevated despite mixed Fed officials' mixed reaction on inflation and interest rates outlook. A possible bipartisan infrastructure plan adds attractions to the greenback.
Author
Rekha Chauhan
Independent Analyst
Rekha Chauhan has been working as a content writer and research analyst in the forex and equity market domain for over two years.
