Asian shares mostly rise despite mounting omicron worries

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday amid nervous trading due to worries over the newest coronavirus variant.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to finish at 27,935.62. South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1% to 2,899.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3% to 7,235.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 23,734.59, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.4% to 3,576.89.

The detection of the omicron variant in Japan and other countries has raised fears that further measures to contain infections may squelch tourism and other economic activity. Experts say it may take weeks before they better understand whether the omicron variant causes serious illness.

Anderson Alves, a trader at ActivTrades, said Asian markets were nervous after an overnight slide on Wall Street and comments from Moderna's CEO that existing COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against omicron than earlier variants.

“Traders will look for new insights regarding the new variant and its impact on the current vaccine framework,” Alves said.

Wall Street's losses deepened after the head of the Federal Reserve said it will consider shutting off its support for financial markets sooner than expected.

The S&P 500 fell 1.9% to 4,567, erasing its gains from a day earlier. The benchmark index sank 2.3% Friday for its worst loss since February, only to rise 1.3% Monday as investors reconsidered whether the reaction was overdone, before giving way to Tuesday’s loss. The index closed out November with a 0.8% loss. That follows a 6.9% gain in October and a 4.8% drop in September. The index is now up 21.6% for the year.

The sell-off accelerated after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress the central bank may halt the billions of dollars of bond purchases it’s making every month “perhaps a few...