Asian Stock Markets Uneven on Omicron Concerns

Asian stock markets were uneven on Thursday as traders weighed prospects given the spreading omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. Hong Kong gained, Shanghai traded mostly sideways and Tokyo lost ground, while the other regional exchanges were also mixed.

The Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not gain ground, finishing off 0.7%. Japan authorities confirmed the nation's second case of the omicron variant on Wednesday, reported Kyodo News.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index opened lower on Wall Street cues but gained in trading, finishing up 0.6% on hopes that Beijing will ease up on lending to China's vast property sector. Real estate issues rallied, although tech stocks continued on the downside.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 130.01 to 23,788.93, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 44 to 16. The Hang Seng TECH Index fell back 0.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 2.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,573.84.

On the other exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 1.6%; the Taiwan TWSE added 0.8%; the Australian ASX 200 lost 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index declined 0.2%, and the Thai Set gained 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 1.4%.