Asian shares mixed after tech-led decline on Wall St

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian markets were mixed Friday after more declines in big technology stocks pulled major indexes lower on Wall Street.

Tokyo, Shanghai and Taiwan slipped but most other regional markets advanced. U.S. futures also were higher.

A resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks has added to uncertainties over a revival of tourism and other business activity across Asia.

The World Health Organization says a record 9.5 million COVID-19 cases were tallied over the last week as the omicron variant of the coronavirus swept the planet, a 71% increase from the previous 7-day period that the U.N. health agency likened to a “tsunami.”

Asia has seen smaller numbers but infections are rising rapidly and bottlenecks in testing mean that still more cases are likely unreported. At the same time, alarm has been kept in check by signs the omicron variant may cause less severe illness, especially in countries with high levels of vaccination against COVID-19.

“The highly transmissible omicron variant is a near-term growth risk for low vaccinated emerging market economies, and to supply chains amid China’s zero-COVID strategy," Sonal Varma of Nomura said in a report.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% lower to 28,478.56 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.5% to 23,422.04. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.2% to 2,954.89, while the Shanghai Composite index shed early gains to fall 0.2%, closing at 3,579.54. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3% to 7,453.30.

Shares in Taiwan dropped 1.1% and India's Sensex was down 0.2%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 4,696.05. The Dow slipped 0.5% to 36,236.47. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.1% to 15,080.86, while smaller company stocks bucked the broader market, with the Russell 2000 index gaining 0.6% to 2,206.37.

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