Asian stock markets sink as traders watch Europe virus cases | Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) – Asian stock markets fell Friday as traders saw a rise in coronavirus cases in Europe and anti-disease controls that threaten to disrupt trade and travel.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney fell. U.S. stocks were closed Thursday for a holiday.

Austria imposed a 10-day nationwide lockdown after the daily virus death toll tripled, while Italy restricted the activity of unvaccinated people. The US government advised Americans to avoid Germany and Denmark. Morocco suspended flights from France after the daily number of new cases peaked above 30,000.

“Traders will be closely monitoring the situation with the new COVID wave across Europe,” ActivTrades’ Anderson Alves said in a report. Alves said the curbs imposed by China that restrict access for ship crews are prolonging “a crisis” in global trade.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4% to 3,569.86 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell by an unusually wide margin of 2.5% to 28,779.03. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 24,260.94.

The Kospi in Seoul lost 1% to 2,949.71 and the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell to 7,301.90. The markets in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also declined.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 closed 0.2% higher on Wednesday. U.S. stocks will reopen on Friday for a shortened trading session.

Investors are more cautious after Federal Reserve officials, in notes from their October meeting released this week, said they envisioned the opportunity to respond to higher inflation by raising interest rates earlier than previously planned.

Financial markets were encouraged by strong corporate earnings in the US and signs that the global economy is recovering from the historic slowdown in activity caused by the pandemic last year. Stock prices have been pushed up by easy credit and other measures taken by the Fed and other central banks.

Investors worry that central bankers may feel pressure to withdraw stimulus ahead of schedule due to stronger-than-expected inflation. The Fed previously said it expected interest rates to remain low until the end of next year.

In energy markets, the US benchmark crude fell $1.68 to $76.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent oil, the price base for international oils, lost $1.29 to $79.63 a barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 114.62 yen from 115.36 yen on Thursday. The euro rose to $1.1224 from $1.1221.

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