Except for Hang Seng, all major Asian indices post declines
Major Asian stock markets, except for the Hang Seng benchmark, closed Monday down, amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and China’s COVID-19 measures, which have negatively affected the country’s economy.
The Chinese economy grew by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2022, above market expectations but below the government’s official target of 5.5%. The COVID-19 measures are expected to have a greater impact on the second quarter.
The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region,lost 28.95 points, or 0.83%, to close at around 3,469 points.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange was down 293.48 points, or 1.08%, to 26,799.
The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was only the index posting an increase, up 143.71 points, or 0.67%, to 21,518.
China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange lost 15.72 points, or 0.49%, to close at 3,195 points.
The Indian Sensex benchmark was down 1,172 points, or 2.01%, to end the day at 57,166 points.
The Singapore index fell 32.78 points, or 0.98%, to 3,303.