The coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate the headlines for more than 9 months. Unfortunately, the pandemic is not over yet, and people should be aware of this fact. It is worth noting that, stocks in Asia-Pacific fell on December 22, as a new coronavirus strain in the U.K. affected investor sentiment on Wall Street one day earlier.
Importantly, mainland Chinese stocks saw losses on the day, as Shanghai Composite dropped 1.86% to 3,356.78. At the same time, the Shenzhen Component fell 1,787% to 13,882.30.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.71% to end its trading day at 26,119.25.
Moreover, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.04% to close at 26,436.39. In the meantime, the Topix index fell 1.56% to finish its trading day at 1,761.12.
South Korea’s Kospi index declined 1.62% to close at 2,733.68.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.05% to end its trading day at 6,599.60. According to preliminary figures released by Australia’s Bureau of Statistics, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Australia’s retail sales jumped 7% in November as compared with October on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Investor sentiment and a new coronavirus strain
It is no secret that investors are closely monitoring the situation and the issue of coronavirus pandemic is very important for them. As a result, even minor information about the pandemic has the potential to affect investor sentiment.
As mentioned above, the country identified a strain of the coronavirus that appears to spread more quickly, and this information created certain questions. At the moment, scientists, as well as infectious disease experts, are working to learn more about the new strain.
Importantly, more than 40 countries suspended transport links with the U.K. Notably, France activated the 48-hour border closure on Monday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus mutates regularly, but a vast majority of mutations are insignificant.
At the moment, there is no evidence that the variant has the ability to make a person sicker and but people should pay more attention to this issue. Scientists are working hard to gather more information about a new variant. Governments around the world are working hard to solve to cope with the pandemic and people should follow the regulations. This way it will be easier to eliminate the coronavirus in 2021. Moreover, public and private organizations are working around the clock to improve the situation.
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