Turbulence Continued in the Stock Market

Turbulence in Asian Stock Markets 

In early Monday trade, Asian markets are trading mixed with Japanese and Korean markets trading in red while Chinese and Taiwan markets trading in green.

Asian stock markets were generally weaker with US crude in holiday-thinned trading on Monday, as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment, Reuters said.

US airlines have cancelled or delayed thousands of flights over the past three days due to COVID-19-related staff shortages, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on-board, Reuters said. In Asia, China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months over the weekend as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, the country's latest COVID hot spot.

Japan's Nikkei lost 0.20 percent while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.11 percent. Mainland Chinese shares, though, were mixed, with Shanghai's benchmark sliding 0.37 percent but an index of blue chips edged 0.05 percent higher.

Trends From US Stocks

Wall Street trading resumes later in the global day following a holiday on Friday. US markets ended positively in their last session with S&P 500 making a record high close. US stocks closed at records on Thursday amid signs Omicron may cause a milder level of illness, even as the highly transmissible strain led to a surge in case numbers around the world. Emini futures point to a 0.1 percent rise for the S&P 500 when it reopens.

The Fall of US Dollar

The US dollar continued to languish near the bottom of its range of the past month against a basket of major peers, after hitting a 16-month high in November as Federal Reserve policymakers turned more hawkish. The dollar index was about flat at 96.116, towards the bottom of the range from 95.544 to the 16-month peak at 96.938 reached on November 24.