Asia-Pacific stock indicators dropped on Monday. China's Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite were down by 0.78% and 1.21% respectively. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.78%. Korea's KOSPI declined by 1.73% and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 2.23%. The Australian stock exchange index slipped by 0.2%.
The main reason for the fall in stock indices is the increase in the number of people infected with the new COVID-19 strain around the world. Some countries have already introduced new restrictive measures, others are about to do so. In South Korea, for example, the number of infected people has already reached record levels. This has forced the state to introduce quarantine measures.
The US authorities are also concerned about the rapid spread of the new strain and are urging citizens to be revaccinated as soon as possible. The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that the US has not yet fully dealt with the strain of delta, which preceded omicron, and that the new variety has a large number of mutations that scientists and medics had not previously anticipated.
China's central bank lowered the interest rate to 3.8% from the previous rate of 3.85%. This was the first time in a year and a half. However, this did not have a significant impact on traders' decisions.
The securities of Chinese companies have fallen in price. JD.com Inc. dropped by 3.6%, Meituan lost 1.6% and Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. plunged 0.4%.
Share prices of major Japanese companies declined following the fall of the Tokyo Stock Exchange indicator. Toyota Motor Corp. dropped by 2%, Fast Retailing Co. lost 2.5%, and SoftBank Group Corp. was down by 2.3%.
Shares of major Korean companies also fell. Samsung Electronics Co. plunged by 1.3%, LG Corp. dropped by 1.3%, LG Corp. was down by 1.6%, Kia Corp. lost 1.8%, and Hyundai Motor Co. fell by 1.7%.
Share prices of Australia's biggest companies are mixed. Thus, shares of Fortescue Metal Group gained 2.5%, Rio Tinto, Ltd. added 0.2%, while BHP Group, Ltd. fell 0.7%.
