Asia Stocks Mostly Down as COVID-19 Delta Variant Surges

On Wednesday, July 7, most Asia stocks were down as investors grew concerned over the region’s economic outlook due to the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX index both crashed 0.94% or 268.97 points at $28,374.24 per share and 0.83% or 16.15 points at $1,938.35 per share, respectively.

Some analysts fear that the country’s economy may fall back into recession in the second quarter due to its two straight quarters of contraction.

Last Monday, a survey showed that the nation’s services sector activity sank for the 17th straight month in June.

In addition, consumer and business confidence fell due to a rise in coronavirus infections ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Consequently, the KOSPI of South Korea dropped 0.59% or 19.49 points at $3,285.72 per share.

The government reported 1,212 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which is the country’s highest daily count since December 2020.

Due to this, officials extended the pandemic curb in Seoul, where most cases are located and its surrounding areas for at least another week.

Additionally, the South Korean government is still considering pushing the restrictions back to their highest level to stop the deadly virus spread.

Moreover, the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong also fell 0.74% or 207.61 points at $27,865.25 per share.

On the other hand, China’s SSE Composite and SZSE Component index rose 0.44% or 15.39 points to $3,545.65 and 1.56% or 228.29 points to $14,895.94, respectively.

Furthermore, the S&P/ASX 200 of Australia also climbed 0.68% or 49.10 points to $7,310.90 per share.

World Stocks Mostly Fell

In addition, world stocks mostly fell, and the MSCI World Index fluctuated 0.24% or 7.21 points at $3,042.63.

Another stock that fell is MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index which stumbled 0.26% or 2.31 points at $873.00.

In the European Union, the STOXX Europe 600 also crashed by 0.52% or a net change of $2.38. It sent the stocks to the bottom at $455.98 per share.

Consequently, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX index both fell 0.91% or 60.06 points to $6,507 and 0.96% or 150.59 points to $15,511, respectively.

Meanwhile, the MDAX Performance Index slightly progressed 0.03% with a net increase of $9.74, which sent the stocks higher to $34,544 per share.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index shrank 0.60% to $34,577 and 0.20% to $4,344, respectively.

Meantime, the NASDAQ Composite index progressed 0.17% or 24.32 points to $14,664 per share.

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