Asian Stock Markets Mixed on Pandemic Outlooks

Asian stock markets were mixed Monday, as traders weighed pandemic outlooks and the closing stages of earnings season. Hong Kong declined, Shanghai was flat and Tokyo gained, while other regional exchanges were similarly mixed.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1% on Tokyo plans to ease anti-pandemic travel restrictions, possibly boosting travel industries.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 262.49 to 27,001.52, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 155 to 62.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the Japanese government would double the anti-pandemic cap on overseas travelers to Japan to 20,000 per day starting in June, reported The Mainichi newspaper.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index opened lower and lost ground to the close, finishing down 1.2% on weakened tech issues and after Beijing officials widened anti-pandemic lockdowns.

On the downside were Alibaba Health Information Technology (0241:HK), off 9.7%, and then garment-maker Li Ning 2331, off 9.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite closed largely unchanged at 3,146.86.

In other news, authorities in Beijing instructed 3.1 million residents in the capital's Haidian district to work from home, while other limited residential areas were locked down, to control Covid-19 cases. The actions fueled concerns about wider lockdowns akin to those imposed in Shanghai, reported The South China Morning Post.

On the other exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.3%; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 0.1%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.8%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was off 0.1%.