Shares in the Asia-Pacific mostly fell on Monday amid growing COVID concerns in China as its central bank kept the benchmark lending rates, or loan prime rates, on hold — in line with expectations.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 170.95 points, or 0.6%, to 28,115.74.
Shares of some Japanese trading houses rose early in the Asia session, despite retreats in the region’s markets, after billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosted its stake in the firms, according to individual regulatory filings.
Berkshire raised its stake by more than one percentage point in Mitsubishi, Mitsui & Co, Itochu, Marubeni and Sumitomo to hold over 6% in each of the firms, the filings showed.
Japan-listed shares of Mitsubishi rose 1.89% in the morning session, Marubeni rose 2.12% and Sumitomo rose more than 1%. Itochu also rose 0.84% and Mitsui inched 0.16% higher.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 231.5 points, or 1.3%, to 17,424.41.
Hong Kong stocks related to reopening and technology dropped in Asia’s morning session, dragging down the wider index, as China reported its first COVID-related deaths since May.
The nation also saw tightened COVID-related restrictions in some regions, including the capital Beijing.
Shares of Cathay Pacific fell 2.1%, Air China slipped more than 3%, China Eastern Airlines shed 2.5%. China Southern Airlines also lost more than 4%.
Casino operators MGM China plunged 6%, Wynn Macao declined nearly 7%, Sands China gave up more than 6% and Galaxy Entertainment lost about 6%.
Meituan’s shares slipped 5.7% and JD.com shed 5.8%, while Alibaba lost 4.7%.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 inched up 0.44 points to 3,769.57.
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 92.81 points, or 0.6%, to 14,542.20.
In Korea, the Kospi index gave up 14.23 points, or 0.6%, to 2,405.27.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regained 8.94 points, or 0.3%, to 3,259.56.
In Australia, the ASX 200 jumped 42.04 points, or 0.6%, to 7,181.30.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 let go of 19.98 points, or 0.2%, to 11,420.42.
