(MENAFN- AFP)
Asian stocks were mostly down in Wednesday trade as a "Santa Claus rally" showed signs of fatigue and continued fears over the Omicron variant -- as well as uncertainty about economic prospects for 2022 -- weighed on markets.
Covid-19 cases have surged across the world, prompting governments to impose new measures to limit contagion while the travel industry faced thousands of flight cancellations.
Warnings from the World Health Organization that the risk from the variant remains "very high" have compounded the sense that the pandemic is far from over, though data showing a reduced risk of hospitalisation has lifted spirits.
Reflecting the uncertainty, Tokyo closed down in thin holiday trade on Wednesday, with the market weighed down by US futures losses.
Seoul was also down, while Sydney and Wellington rose. Europe opened mixed, with London's FTSE slightly up while Paris and Frankfurt fell.
In China, markets fell, in a slide analysts partly attributed to losses in shares of major liquor brands -- including Kweichow Moutai, one of the world's biggest drinks companies.
"The drop is mostly contributed by some blue chips, in particular the baijiu names," Zhang Gang, a strategist at Central China Securities, told Bloomberg.
"It's likely that some funds want to cash out before the year-end after the recent rebound."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down as investors eyed uncertain prospects for 2022 as well as a continued debt crisis in the mainland's property market.
A continued regulatory clampdown by Beijing on overseas listings by Chinese firms has also weighed down markets -- though expectations that the country's central bank will add further stimulus in 2022 offered some hope.
- 'Fits and starts' -
But trading volumes remain thin going into the new year, when prospects for global growth and the long-term impact of the Omicron variant are expected to become clearer.
Moody's economist Mark Zandi said in a note the Omicron wave would dent growth in the first quarter, but "not have a material impact" on 2022 overall because of a rebound later in the year.
"Even after the Omicron wave abates, there will almost surely be others. But we expect each new wave to be less disruptive to the healthcare system and economy than the wave before it," he said.
Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, was also upbeat, saying her firm was "pretty constructive going into 2022".
"We're having fits and starts related to this Omicron variant of course. This will create maybe demand delayed but not destroyed," she told Bloomberg TV.
There was also optimism on oil markets, with crude holding a roughly one-month high on hopes that the Omicron variant will not dent global travel in the ways many had feared.
- Key figures around 0830 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.88 percent at 7437.20 points
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.56 percent at 28,906.88 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.83 percent at 23,086.54 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.91 percent at 3,597.00 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1291 from $1.1299
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3424 from $1.3420
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.115 pence from 84.2 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 114.96 yen from 114.90 yen
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.38 percent at $76.27 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.49 percent at $79.33 per barrel
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,786.35 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this report --
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