Major indices of the Asia-Pacific region suffered losses, with their average decline amounting to 1% or more. However, two indices managed to edge higher: Australian S&P/ASX 200 shares added 0.16% and Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.6%. China's Shanghai Composite shed 1.1%, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.86%. Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index was down 1.44%, while South Korea's KOSPI slid by 1.04%.
On the one hand, investors paid attention to the statements by US President Joe Biden that he could drop some of the tariffs imposed against Chinese imports by former President Donald Trump.
On the other hand, investors are concerned about high inflation, the epidemiological situation in China, which may lead to new lockdowns, as well as tightened control that negatively affects demand for goods and their production around the world. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is having a big impact on energy prices.
Among the Japanese Nikkei's 225 components, Recruit Holdings Co Ltd lost 6%, while Z Holdings Corp and CyberAgent Inc fell by 3.8% each. Other majors posted smaller losses, with SoftBank Group, Fast Retailing, and Sony down by 1.5%, 1.1%, and 0.3% respectively.
Among the leading Chinese companies, Sands China Ltd, Techtronic Industries Co Ltd, and Meituan turned out to be the biggest losers. Their shares tumbled by 6.2%, 5.7%, and 7.6% respectively. Other companies proved to be more fortunate: Tencent Holdings Ltd lost 1.85% and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd fell by 1.2%.
Stronger price changes were shown by South Korea's corporate giants: the shares of Samsung Electronics Co decreased by 1.9%, and Hyundai Motor - by 1.86%.
Among the components of the Australian S&P/ASX 200, BHP saw a slight decline of 0.01%, while Rio Tinto gained 1.3%.
