Asian shares near year-low as inflation, Omicron fears sap confidence

Asian shares near year-low as inflation, Omicron fears sap confidence

HONG KONG - Asian stocks tested 13-month lows on Friday, as fears about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, inflation concerns and hawkish pivots by the world's major central banks knocked investor confidence. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.7% on Friday to be down 2.28% on the week, and only just above the year low set last week. Chinese blue chips shed 1.35% and were heading for their worst week in three months, while an index of Hong Kong-listed tech firms hit a record low, not helped by news Washington put investment and export restrictions on dozens of Chinese companies. But weakness in stocks went beyond names in greater China - Japan's Nikkei shed 1.8% reversing the previous day's gains - and looked set to continue into European and U.S. trade. Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures lost 0.96%, FTSE futures were down 0.45%, and Nasdaq futures shed 0.25%, suggesting the benchmark may extend Thursday's heavy losses. "Market volatility should be going up now as tapering is on, and we will probably see more volatility in U.S. markets from now on, which will bring bigger moves to Asian markets too," said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at