Shares were mostly lower in Europe and Asia yesterday as markets were counting down to the end of a painful year for investors, with no end in sight to uncertainties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Shares fell in Taipei, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Frankfurt and Paris, but rose in London and Hong Kong as the Chinese government took further steps to reopen to foreign travel after relaxing its “zero-COVID-19” policies.
Oil prices fell and US futures inched higher.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Chinese government on Tuesday announced that it would start issuing new passports, a major step away from travel barriers that are likely to bring a flood of tourists out of China for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.
The return of free-spending Chinese visitors to Asia, Europe and other destinations during what usually is the country’s busiest travel season would be a welcome relief for countries such as Thailand that depend heavily on tourism.
However, some governments have said they would impose extra precautions on people arriving from China given the widespread virus outbreaks there.
With China in the middle of its most severe COVID-19 wave so far, disruptions to manufacturing and transport are likely to linger until the worst is past.
“Investors are enthusiastic about China re-opening its economy. However, there are plenty of reports which suggest that COVID cases are on the rise in China, which really threatens the supply chain,” Avatrade.com chief market analyst Naeem Aslam said in a commentary.
In Asian trading, the TAIEX closed down 1.08 percent at 14,173.10 points on turnover of NT$160.318 billion (US$5.22 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.6 percent to 19,898.91, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3 percent to 3,087.40. Hong Kong’s benchmark is down 14 percent for the year, while Shanghai’s has lost 14.2 percent.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, which has given up 8.6 percent this year, fell 0.4 percent to 26,340.50, the KOSPI in Seoul declined 2.2 percent to 2,280.45 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent to 7,086.40. Bangkok’s SET gained 0.3 percent.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX lost 0.3 percent to 13,952.83. It is down about 13 percent from the start of the year. The CAC 40 in Paris, which is about 9 percent below where it began the year, edged 0.1 percent lower to 6,541.50.
Not all world markets are ending the year on low notes.
Britain’s FTSE-100 is at about the level it started this year. Early yesterday, it was up 0.7 percent at 7,525.42.
US futures for the S&P 500 were barely changed, down 1 point, while the futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1 percent higher.
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