Asia markets down on Omicron, US jobs data worries
Asian markets broadly fell in morning trading Monday, tracking uncertainty over
the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as well as disappointing US jobs data and the
future of Chinese tech firms on Wall Street.
The
Omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries but no deaths have yet been
reported, with authorities worldwide racing to determine how contagious it is
and how effective existing vaccines are at fighting it.
Top US
pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday that while more information was
needed, preliminary data on the severity of the Omicron Covid-19 variant are
"a bit encouraging."
Nevertheless,
the new strain has sparked fears that the global recovery could be put in
jeopardy, as governments reimpose restrictions that many had hoped would be a
thing of the past.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has warned the latest strain could slow the global recovery, noting that "a new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence."
"Omicron?related
uncertainty will linger while market participants wait to learn about the
severity, infectiousness and resistance of the strain," Kim Mundy, a
strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.
Tracking
those fears -- as well as signs of a looming hawkish shift in US rates --
Tokyo, Seoul and Australia fell in morning trading.
Also down
was Hong Kong, where news last week that Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi
Chuxing would start the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange
has sent shares in tech firms tumbling.
Shares in
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba -- still reeling from the impacts of a broad
regulatory crackdown on big tech by Beijing -- fell up to 8.3 percent in early
trading, as the firm announced the biggest reshuffle of its top management
since a massive fine for antitrust violations.
Losses in
the US were also dragging markets down, after a week that saw the Federal
Reserve signal a plan to accelerate the withdrawal of its monetary stimulus and
potentially hike rates sooner.
Disappointing
US jobs data on Friday contributed to the pessimism, showing the world's
largest economy added just 210,000 jobs last month -- fewer than half the
increase forecasters expected.
Analysts
have characterised the report as better than the headline figure, noting the
unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent, a decline of four-tenths of a point
from the prior month. The labour force participation rate also rose to its
highest level since the pandemic.