Asia Pacific Stocks Fell as COVID-19 Delta Variant Surged

On Monday, June 28, most stocks in the Asia Pacific region fell as the COVID-19 Delta variant continued to surge.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 and South Korean KOSPI both plummeted 0.07% or 18.76 points to 29,047.42 and 0.04% or 1.26 to 3,301.58, respectively.

Also, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sank 0.08% or 5.90 points to 7,302.10 as the city of Sydney is under lockdown due to the latest outbreak of the coronavirus Delta variant.

The Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe is due to address a banking summit on Tuesday.

On the other hand, China’s Shenzhen Component rose 0.98% or 147.10 points to 15,150.95. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Component crashed by 0.05% or 1.99 to 3,605.58.

The nation has a busy week ahead as the Manufacturing, and Nonmanufacturing Purchasing Managers’ indexes were due on Wednesday.

In addition, President Xi Jinping should deliver his speech. This will mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s stock markets were closed this morning and set to resume after lunch.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing made an announcement. They said that the morning trading sessions of both securities and derivatives markets and the Stock Connect trading would be delayed.

This is due to a black rainstorm warning. It was issued as a warning of heavy rain that is about to bring road flooding that will lead to traffic congestion.

Furthermore, Indonesia’s IDX Composite and FTSE Bursa Malaysia fluctuated 0.83% or 50.21 points to 5,972.19 and 1.12% or 17.40 points to 1,542.28, respectively.

Lastly, the MSCI’s Asia Pacific shares outside Japan crashed by 702.57.

U.S. Stock Futures

Moreover, on Monday morning, U.S. stock indexes tied to futures contracts sharply rose.

Last Friday, stocks posted their best week in months as investors grew more comfortable with the inflation.

The S&P 500 closed a record high of 4,280.70 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also spiked 237.02 points and stands under 2% from its record.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq Composite ended lower however it gained 2.35% last week, which is its best since April 9. Consequently, it was up 4.45% for June.

An analyst said that the current price hike in the U.S. is not a sustained economic threat but is a temporary leap.

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