Asian shares hit 7-week low as China doubles down on zero-COVID-19: Reuters

Asian shares hit 7-week low as China doubles down on zero-COVID-19: Reuters

Asian shares tumbled to their lowest in seven weeks on Friday and the dollar stood tall as investors globally shunned riskier assets over fears that higher US interest rates and China’s reinforcement of its zero-COVID policy could hit growth hard, according to Reuters. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 2.65 percent on Friday and fell to its lowest level since March 16, the day when Chinese vice premier Liu He boosted shares by pledging to support markets and the economy. The benchmark is down 3.8 percent from last Friday’s close, which would be its worst week since mid-March. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend, rising 0.56 percent on its return from a three-day holiday. Chinese blue chips shed 2 percent, the Hong Kong benchmark lost 3.44 percent, and China’s yuan tumbled to an 18-month low in both onshore and offshore markets. Dickie Wong, director of research at Hong Kong brokerage Kingston Securities, attributed the falls to the Wall Street plunge overnight amid worries about aggressive USrate hikes, as well as fears about the health of the Chinese economy. China will fight any comments and actions that distort, doubt or deny the country’s COVID-19 response policy, state television reported