Asian equities mixed in quiet year-end trading

TOKYO (AP) – Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday as optimism sparked by a rally on Wall Street was dampened by concerns about the potential impact of the ommicron variant of the coronavirus.

The Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1.0% in morning trading to 28,960.31. The South Korean Kospi won 0.1% to 3,002.72. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 23,201.42, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 3,610.32. Trade in Australia was closed for Boxing Day.

Much of Asia has yet to see an increase in infections of the ommicron variant in other parts of the world, but experts warn the region is unlikely to be spared.

Japan has yet to see such a wave of new cases. Many areas are buzzing with end-of-year shoppers and many events are held with spectators, although most people wear masks.

New daily cases in Japan have recently totaled about 200. There have been relatively few COVID-related deaths so far, while there have been none in recent days. Still, analysts warned that uncertainties lie ahead.

“Record rallies are a bit too optimistic,” said Mizuho Bank’s Vishnu Varathan, pointing to huge numbers of omicron cases in Europe and the US

Technology companies led US stocks largely higher on Monday, extending the market’s recent rally and pushing the S&P 500 to a new all-time high.

Wall Street started the last week of an excellent year for the stock market with trading muted largely as investors returned from the Christmas break and several overseas markets remained closed.

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to 4,791.19, its fourth rise in a row. The benchmark, which capped a record high on a week that was cut short by the holidays on Thursday, is on track to close the year with a gain of 27.6%. It has hit 69 all-time highs so far this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to 36,302.38 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4% to 15,871.26.

Major indices posted weekly gains last week as fears eased over the potential impact of the COVID-19 omicron variant. However, much remains uncertain about ommicron, which is spreading rapidly and in some places leading to a return to pandemic restrictions.

Small company shares also rose. The Russell 2000 index gained 0.9% to 2,261.46.

Trading this week is expected to be calm but potentially volatile as the ommicron coronavirus variant continues to spread rapidly throughout the US and overseas. However, most major investors have closed their positions for 2021 and want to hold out until next week.

Aviation stocks closed lower on news of pandemic-related cancellations. Delta Air Lines fell 0.8% and United Airlines fell 0.6%.

The shares of cruise lines also fell. Norwegian Cruise Line was down 2.6% for one of the largest declines in the S&P 500. Carnival was down 1.2% and Royal Caribbean was down 1.3%.

Authorities in many countries have redoubled their vaccination efforts as ommicron outbreaks complicate efforts to prevent new lockdowns, while hospitals remain under pressure from delta variant infections.

In energy trading, the US benchmark rose 27 cents to $75.84, from $75.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It won $1.78 to $75.57 on Monday.

Brent oil, the international standard, rose 27 cents to $78.87 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar fell from $114.87 to $114.86. The euro cost $1.1325, down from $1.1327.

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AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed.

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