SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in Monday morning trading as investors watch the wave of Covid in China. Meanwhile, oil prices continued to be volatile amid the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.77% in morning trading as shares in Chinese tech giant Tencent tumbled 3.43%. Mainland Chinese stocks also tumbled, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 1.5% and the Shenzhen Component down 1.46%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.03% and the Topix index rose 0.97%. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 added 1.07%.
South Korean Kospi lagged 0.54%.
The broadest Asia-Pacific MSCI stock index outside of Japan was down 0.99%.
Investors continued to monitor the development of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which disrupted maritime and air travel. Elsewhere, markets have also been tracking the recent spate of Covid infections in China, including in the major city of Shenzhen.
Oil prices fell by 3%
Stock selection and investment trends from CNBC Pro:
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a rate hike later this week, the first such move since 2018.
In Asia, the Bank of Japan is also set to announce its monetary policy decision later this week.
Currencies
The US dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 99.049 after a recent bounce below 98.
The Japanese yen traded at 117.66 per dollar after weakening last week from below 116 against the US dollar. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7275 after falling from $0.732 late last week.