Asian markets post mixed figures at Monday close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Major stock markets in Asia posted mixed figures at Monday's close, with China's Shanghai Stock Exchange performing the best.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, was marginally up by 0.01%, or 0.54 points, to close at 3,724.20 points.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange was in negative territory, going down by 0.70%, or 191.12 points, to 27,248.87 as the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in the country worries investors.

Japan is undergoing the sixth wave of infections driven by the omicron variant, triggering intense anti-virus measures in at least 34 provinces.

The officials are mulling to expand the quasi-state of emergency to more provinces to stem the spread of the virus.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, rose slightly by 0.03%, or 6.26 points, to close Monday at 24,579.55.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange jumped 2.03%, or 68.14 points, to close at 3,429.58 points following a week's holiday.

The Caixin China services PMI decreased from 53.1 in December to 51.4 in January as the growth rate was the slowest seen in the five-month sequence of expansion.

The composite index also dropped to 50.1 in January from 53.0 in December.

The Indian Sensex benchmark was the worst performer of the day, falling by 1.75%, or 1,026.57 points, to close the day at 57,618.25 points, and the Singapore index gained 1.05%, or 35.07 points, to reach 3,366.48.