Stocks Declined Due to Tensions and Covid-19

It was not an easy day for stocks in Asia-Pacific as investors monitored developments from the Covid situation in Hong Kong to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.23% to end its trading day at 27,079.59, with shares of conglomerate SoftBank Group falling nearly 4%. On Monday, the Topix Index dropped 1.63% to 1,930.65.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.57% to close at 2,704.48.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.35% as of its final hour of trading. The city is trying to deal with the fifth wave of Covid infections. Over the weekend, Hong Kong’s chief secretary announced that mainland China will assist Hong Kong in areas such as testing and quarantine facilities. 

Mainland Chinese stocks suffered losses on Monday. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.98% to finish its trading day at 3,428.88. The Shenzhen component dropped 0.765% to 13,123.21.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.37% to close at 7,243.90.

U.S. stocks on Friday

U.S. stocks declined on Friday as increased tensions between Ukraine and Russia sent oil spiking and led investors to avoid risky assets like equities.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.78% to 13,791.15. The S&P 500 fell 1.9% to 4,418.64. In the meantime, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 503.53 points or 1.43% to 34,738.06. 

On Friday, some defense stocks moved higher after Ukraine headlines crossed. Lockheed Martin gained 2.8%, and Northrop Grumman added 4.5%.

Conversely, shares of travel stocks like airlines fell sharply. Shares of American Airlines declined by nearly 6%. Furthermore, Expedia closed down more than 2% after stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings sent the stock higher in early trading.  

Semiconductor stocks also suffered losses on Friday. Shares of Advanced Micro as well as Xilinx dropped 10%.