Asian markets under pressure amid a surge in Covid-19 cases and fresh China-US tensions

Hang Seng and Shanghai rallied a bit after trading lower early on.

January 06, 2021 1:40 IST India Infoline News Service

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday amid surge in the virus counts and China-U.S. tensions weighed on sentiment. Japanese Nikkei closed lower for the third consecutive day in this year's trade.

Nikkei traded down 102.69 points or 0.38% at 27,055.94.

Korean Kospi closed 2,968.21 down 22.36 points or 0.75%. Australian ASX 200 closed 74.8 or 1.12 % lower at 6,607.1. Markets in Taiwan and Jakarta were also down. SGX Nifty traded 0.19% lower.

Hang Seng and Shanghai rallied a bit after trading lower early on. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was engaged in subdued trade after authorities arrested dozens of pro-democracy figures, including lawmakers. A move by the US President Trump administration to further sanction Chinese companies fuelled unease over tensions between the two biggest economies. It rallied a bit and was trading 0.15% higher. 

In Shanghai, the market closed 22.20 Points higher or 0.63% higher after being under pressure in early trade.

Earlier, Asian markets opened flat after the US markets saw huge intraday volatility & ended higher.

US markets bounced back after a choppy session as investors await the outcome of Georgia election results to determine yields curve trend.

All eyes are on the Senate election results as markets on a tightrope given the extent of the rally & profit booking just round the corner.

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