SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan were set to slip at the open as concerns over the world’s recovery from the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment in Asia-Pacific.
Futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks. The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,675 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,630. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 28,995.92.
Shares in Australia were little changed in morning trade, as the S&P/ASX 200 sat below the flatline.
Many regions globally are seeing an increase in new Covid-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread, the World Health Organization said earlier this week. In Europe, authorities continue to struggle with the virus as the region battles a third Covid wave.
In corporate developments, Chinese internet behemoth Tencent is set to announce its fourth quarter and annual results on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Chinese streaming company Bilibili announced Tuesday that it will raise 20.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $2.6 billion) in its upcoming Hong Kong secondary listing after pricing its shares at 808 Hong Kong dollars each. Shares of Bilibili are expected to begin trading in Hong Kong on Monday.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.336 following a rise from levels below 91.8 earlier in the week.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.54 per dollar, as compared to levels around 108.9 against the greenback seen earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7615 after declining yesterday from above $0.768.
Source: CNBC