Shares in Australia and Japan struggled for gains on Friday where trading volume was relatively low as many markets in the region are closed for the start of the Lunar New Year holiday.
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 43.37 points, or 0.6%, to 6,806.74.
The country’s so-called Big Four banks declined. Shares of ANZ see-sawed between gains and losses to trade down 0.3%, Commonwealth Bank shares fell 0.2%, Westpac declined by 0.7% and the National Australia Bank lost 0.5%.
The Australian state of Victoria is set to enter a five-day lockdown beginning at 11:59 p.m. local time until Feb. 17, during which all nonessential retail outlets will close while cafes and restaurants will only provide takeaway options.
That comes after five new locally transmitted cases of coronavirus infection were detected in the last 24 hours, bringing the state’s total number of active cases to 19.
The Nikkei 225 returned from holiday to drop 42.86 points, or 0.1%, to 29,520.07. The Japanese yen changed hands at 104.82 per dollar, slightly weaker than its last close at 104.72, while the Australian dollar traded down 0.06% at $0.7746.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 withered 171.49 points, or 1.3%, to 12,589.64.
Markets in China, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were shuttered for the Lunar New Year.
