Canberra (dpa-AFX) – Asian stocks ended on a muted note on Monday, as inflation continued to be a worry and a spike in coronavirus cases across several markets in the region at the weekend led to lockdowns and restrictions in some areas.
Traders also kept a close eye on Washington after US President Joe Biden acknowledged there was no guarantee an infrastructure package would get through Congress.
The White House on Saturday stepped back from a call to link it to a wider tax-and-spending bill – including priorities like climate change mitigation, child care, schools and social services – which are opposed by Republicans.
The announcement fanned fears he had threatened to veto the new agreement.
Chinese shares ended marginally lower as investors awaited manufacturing and non-manufacturing data for directional cues.
Official data showed on Sunday that China’s industrial profits slowed again in May due to high base effects and increases in the costs of production.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended marginally lower at 29,268.30, as trading resumed following a morning suspension due to heavy rain in the city.
Japanese shares ended on a flat note after rising in the previous two sessions. The Nikkei average finished marginally lower at 29,048.02, ahead of key US economic data due later in the week, including the June jobs report.
The broader Topix index edged up 0.15 per cent to settle at 1,965.67.
Technology stocks ended broadly lower. Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron shed 1.6 per cent, Advantest dropped 1.3 per cent and Screen Holdings gave up 0.9 per cent.
Seven & i Holdings soared 4.5 per cent after agreeing to sell some US stores to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.
Australian markets ended marginally lower after New South Wales reported 30 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the first day of a two-week lockdown in Sydney and Darwin.
Travel and tourism stocks suffered heavy losses as fresh Covid-19 cases triggered tighter restrictions in four states. Flight Centre Travel Group, Qantas Airways and Webjet lost 3-4 per cent.
Technology stocks also tumbled, with buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay plunging as much as 7.5 per cent.
Retailers bucked the weak trend, with online retailer Kogan.com surging 6.6 per cent. Supermarket giant Woolworths rallied 2.9 per cent.
Seoul stocks fell to snap a four-day winning streak as coronavirus cases spiked across Asia and investors awaited cues from a slew of economic data due later in the week. The benchmark Kospi finished marginally lower at 3,301.89, after closing at a record high the previous session.
LG Chem lost about 1 per cent and SK Hynix gave up 2 per cent. New Zealand shares ended slightly lower, with the benchmark NZX 50 index closing down 22.34 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 12,603.75.
US stocks ended Friday’s session broadly higher as investors picked up shares of companies mostly tied to an economic recovery.
A key US inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve posted its biggest year-on-year increase in May since 1992, but the rate of increase slowed since April.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent to reach a fresh record high and the Dow gained 0.7 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1 per cent.
