Bangkok:Shares slipped in Asia on Monday after last week’s decline on Wall Street, while signs of a surge in coronavirus infections in China suggested progress may be bumpy as it rolls back its “zero-COVID” pandemic restrictions, the AP reported.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 2.1% to 19,475.16 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.9% to 3,179.04.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gave up 0.2% to 27,842.33 while the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.7% to 2,373.02.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5% to 7,180.80.
Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday.
In other trading Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 56 cents to $71.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 44 cents to $71.02 on Friday.
Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, added 50 cents to $76.60 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 136.80 Japanese yen from 136.60 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0518 from $1.0537.