Asian markets mixed as China Covid worries grow

Growing fears about China’s latest Covid-19 outbreak on Tuesday rattled investors, who fear authorities will revert to highly restrictive containment measures that have already dealt a chilling blow to the world’s number two economy this year, AFP reported.
After starting November with a rally thanks to easing inflation concerns and signs China was edging towards a looser approach to the disease, the optimism has been given a massive jolt since the country announced its first virus deaths in six months.
Case numbers have surged across China, with residents in Beijing worried that a record number of new infections will lead to lockdown measures similar to those seen earlier in the year in Shanghai, which lasted for months.
The flare-ups came just a week after China said it would begin rolling back some of the strict Covid rules that have been in place since the pandemic started in 2020, even as the rest of the world has moved on.
Hong Kong, which thundered more than 10 percent higher in a three-day surge earlier this month, fell for a fifth straight day, while Seoul was also lower along with Wellington, Bangkok and Jakarta.
Still, there were gains in Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Mumbai.
London and Paris rose but Frankfurt fell.
– Eyes on Fed minutes –
That came after a drop on Wall Street, where trading was lighter than usual owing to the Thanksgiving break at the end of the week.
Wednesday sees the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, which will be pored over for insight into officials’ thinking against the backdrop of four-decade-high inflation and signs of a slowing economy.
Hopes that the bank will begin to take its foot off the pedal were boosted earlier this month by figures showing inflation slowed more than expected, suggesting a series of hikes were beginning to bite.
Still, several members of the Fed’s top brass have warned against getting carried away and said more increases were needed to get on top of prices.
But JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Marko Kolanovic said markets would likely stumble into the new year and only pick up once the US central bank takes a more dovish stance on borrowing costs.
JPMorgan saw risk assets to trade “rangebound with a more pronounced downside risk”.
Tokyo stocks advanced Tuesday as the dollar’s rise helped exporters, though many investors took to sidelines ahead of a series of holidays in major markets, AFP reported.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.61 percent, or 170.95 points, at 28,115.74, while the broader Topix index rose 1.12 percent, or 22.18 points, at 1,994.75.