BANGKOK – Shares suffered in Asia on Wednesday after Wall Street closed lower for the second day in a row, led by the collapse of tech companies and banks.
The worsening of coronavirus outbreaks in Asia has overshadowed the prospects for pandemic recovery. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 2% and other benchmarks also declined.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 returned 0.7%, placing the index below the record high set on Friday. Shares of small businesses, which have been outperforming the rest of the market in recent months, fell more than other sectors.
Asian governments are working to ensure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines after seeing an increase in the number of infections in recent weeks. The rise in cases is increasing medical systems from Japan to India and leading to the restoration of pandemic precautions, such as travel restrictions, quarantine requirements and a decrease in nightlife.
El Nikkei 225 NIK,
in Tokyo yielded 2.2%, while Hang Seng HSI of Hong Kong,
decreased by 1.8%. In Seoul, the Kospi 180721,
lost 1.5%, while S & P / ASX 200 XJO in Sydney,
it lost 1.2% despite strong retail sales data. The Shanghai SHCOMP Composite Index,
tilted slightly higher. Shares fell in Singapore ITS,
Taiwan Y9999,
and Indonesia JAKIDX,
“Global stocks continue to drop to lows after renewed concerns about the virus scared markets overnight,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a comment.
The worsening outbreaks in India and Thailand have also affected the recovery in travel, which in turn is clouding the outlook for oil and fuel prices, he said.
Wednesday the S&P 500 SPX,
closed at 4,134.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
it lost 0.8% to 33,821.30. After abandoning an early gain, the Nasdaq COMP
it slipped 0.9% to 13,786.27.
Apple AAPL,
fell 1.3% as part of a broad slide of technology companies. Banks also accounted for a large share of the sale, which came as bond yields fell, reversing course after rising Monday.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.56%, from 1.60%.
In other commercial operations, US reference crude oil CLK21,
lost 51 cents, to $ 62.16 per barrel, in e-commerce on the New York Stock Exchange. It yielded 76 cents on Tuesday at $ 62.67 a barrel. Brent cru BRNM21,
the international standard, decreased 46 cents to $ 66.11 per barrel.
The US Dollar USDJPY,
fell to 107.95 Japanese yen from 108.09 yen on Tuesday at the end.