Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday. South Korean shares settled down, driven by concerns over surging Delta coronavirus variant cases and hawkish remarks from a senior US Federal Reserve official. Chinese shares declined as the country tightened overseas travel restrictions for its citizens as part of efforts to contain the fast-spreading of delta variant corona-virus, after reporting its highest number of infections in months, while fears of Beijing’s crackdown also weighed on market sentiment. However, Japanese shares ended higher, supported by better-than-expected earnings results from Nippon Yusen, Kikkoman Corp and Hitachi Zozen.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,466.55 | -10.67 | -0.31 |
Hang Seng | 26,204.69 | -221.86 | -0.84 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,205.42 | 46.38 | 0.75 |
KLSE Composite | 1,495.78 | 4.45 | 0.30 |
Nikkei 225 | 27,728.12 | 144.04 | 0.52 |
Straits Times | 3,175.10 | -7.80 | -0.25 |
KOSPI Composite | 3,276.13 | -4.25 | -0.13 |
Taiwan Weighted | 17,603.12 | -20.77 | -0.12 |