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The benchmark indices of equities across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region slumped on Friday following an overnight sell-off on Wall Street. But in the APAC region, COVID-19 seems to be resurfacing, leading to a panic sell-off across the region.
Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) APAC Index continued is losing streak for the third day in a row -- this time trading down by 1.14%.
And APAC matters a lot – after all, it is home to over 4 billion souls, that is, one half of the world’s population. The geographical area – which surrounds the India Ocean, Antarctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, also makes up two-fifths of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Hence, the APAC region, over the years, has grown in its impact on the global economy and is referred to as the new power centre of the world.
On that note, let us see what impacted various indices across the APAC region today:
- Japan: In the far eastern country, the Nikkei225 was trading down by 1.84%, while the Topix fell 1.69%. The country has declared a state of emergency, starting from Monday, which will last till 22 August 2021. This has led to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) cancelling any kind of spectator presence at Olympic venues in the capital city of Tokyo. The Olympics are set to begin later this month, after being postponed by a year due to the pandemic.
- Australia: The country’s benchmark ASX200 crashed by 1.32% in Friday’s intraday trade, as Sydney – the country’s financial hub – extended the COVID-19 restrictions by another week. The provincial government had declared lockdown a week earlier after fresh cases of the new variant were reported in the city.
- South Korea: The equity benchmark of the country, the KOPSI was trading 1.59% down in the intraday trade on Friday. The sell-off was bolstered after the government announced that the greater Seoul area will be placed under the toughest social distancing rules – of Level 4. Under Level 4 rules, gatherings of more than two people will be banned after 1800 hours local time, along with restrictions on funerals and wedding gatherings.
- China: Both the benchmarks in the region’s largest economy were trading in red – the Shanghai Composite was down 69 basis points, while the Shenzhen Component was down 1.03%. According to country’s National Bureau of Statistics, China’s consumer price index for June rose 1.1% as compared with a year ago – 20 basis points lower than the market estimates.
