Covid-19 Pandemic Affected Stocks in Asia-Pacific

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday, as investors watched the situation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic in mainland China as well as movements in the Japanese yen.

The World Health Organization is monitoring the situation in mainland China. The country is trying to stabilize the situation. Shanghai reported the vast majority of new cases detected in China.

The U.S. State Department is also trying to adapt to the new reality. It ordered all non-emergency government staff and their family members in Shanghai to leave amid the Covid surge.

U.S. inflation data is also expected to be out later on Tuesday and could provide more information on the outlook for the central bank’s policy.

Chinese markets somewhat recovered from Monday’s heavy losses. The Shanghai composite gained 1.46% to finish its trading day at 3,213.33. The Shenzhen component advanced 2.05% to close at 11,756.38.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index edged 0.39% higher as of its final hour of trade. The shares of tech giant Tencent gained 3.68%. Moreover, NetEase jumped 4.07%. Shares of Tencent and NetEase rose after Chinese regulators approved new games for monetization following a months-long freeze.

Stocks and investors

Japanese stocks suffered serious on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 led losses among the region’s major markets as the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.81% to 26,334.98, with shares of robot maker Fanuc declining 5.47%. The Topix index fell 1.38% to end its trading day at 1,863.63.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.42% to close at 7,454. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.98%, finishing the trading day at 2,666.76.

Investors kept an eye on the Japanese yen as it traded at 125.63 per dollar following yesterday’s weakening from below 125 against the U.S. dollar.

In early March, the Japanese yen traded below 115 against the U.S. currency weakening sharply from those levels.

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