Shares in Asia-Pacific were lower on Monday, with multiple major markets in the region seeing big losses as China slashed its benchmark lending rate for the first time in more than one-and-a-half years.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 807.97 points, or 2.1%, to 27,937.81.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.40 per dollar, stronger than levels above 114 seen against the greenback last week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 447.77 points, or 1.9%, to 22,744.86.
Those losses came as investors continued to track the spread of the omicron COVID variant, with the World Health Organization recently warning that the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community spread.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7091, off levels above $0.72 seen last week.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 stepped back 74.34 points, or 1.5%, to 4,880.42
China on Monday announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85% to 3.8% — the first such move since April 2020. Majority of traders and economists in a Reuters poll had expected cuts to the loan prime rate.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex dwindled 143.48 points, or 0.8%, to 17,669.11
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 38.66 points, or 1.2%, to 3,072.97
In Korea, the Kospi index subtracted 54.73 points, or 1.8%, to 2,963
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recovered 48.51 points, or 0.4%, to 12,766.45
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 11.81 points, or 0.2%, at 7,292.16.
