AFP, Hong Kong :
Concerns about soaring virus cases and new lockdowns pushed equities down again Tuesday, while fears over a new strain in Britain and stuttering Brexit trade talks were keeping the pound under pressure.
The mutated virus, which is said to be 70 percent more transmissible, has forced numerous countries around the world to shut their borders to the UK and has overshadowed the rollout of vaccines and news that US lawmakers had agreed a new stimulus.
Analysts said investors were taking the opportunity to cash in recent gains as they wound down for the festive break, with most saying 2021 will see a surge across markets as the economy opens up after people are inoculated.
However, they pointed out that the long-term optimism is being kept grounded by concerns about the immediate impact of the latest wave of infections.
“What we’ve seen out of the UK is a scary thing for the markets, which could incentivise some profit-taking,” Steven Wieting, at Citigroup Private Bank, told Bloomberg TV. But the vaccination drive should be a “game-changer”, he added.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were all in the red, while Sydney shed 0.9 percent as investors grew increasingly worried about a spike in new infections in the city that has led to the imposition of containment measures.
Concerns about soaring virus cases and new lockdowns pushed equities down again Tuesday, while fears over a new strain in Britain and stuttering Brexit trade talks were keeping the pound under pressure.
The mutated virus, which is said to be 70 percent more transmissible, has forced numerous countries around the world to shut their borders to the UK and has overshadowed the rollout of vaccines and news that US lawmakers had agreed a new stimulus.
Analysts said investors were taking the opportunity to cash in recent gains as they wound down for the festive break, with most saying 2021 will see a surge across markets as the economy opens up after people are inoculated.
However, they pointed out that the long-term optimism is being kept grounded by concerns about the immediate impact of the latest wave of infections.
“What we’ve seen out of the UK is a scary thing for the markets, which could incentivise some profit-taking,” Steven Wieting, at Citigroup Private Bank, told Bloomberg TV. But the vaccination drive should be a “game-changer”, he added.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were all in the red, while Sydney shed 0.9 percent as investors grew increasingly worried about a spike in new infections in the city that has led to the imposition of containment measures.
