On the forex market, the Chinese yuan also declined against the US dollar, hitting the lowest level in one and a half years. It was trading at 6.73 per US dollar on the offshore market around 9:45 am Hong Kong time. By noon, it pared losses and traded at 6.71.
The Japanese yen weakened against the greenback to 130.6 per dollar. The Korean won was also down, trading around 1274 per dollar.
Apart from the impact from Wall Street, investors in Asia are also jittery after the latest comments from China’s top leadership.
On Thursday, President Xi Jinping told all levels of the government to “resolutely adhere to” the country’s zero-Covid policy. He made the remarks during a meeting with the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee — the nation’s top decision body.
Officials at all levels of government should “resolutely fight with any words and acts distorting, doubting and denying China’s Covid control policy,” Xi said.
“That may serve to dampen some hopes of any Covid-19 policy shift, which suggests that economic recovery will remain prolonged and uneven,” wrote Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at financial services firm IG Group, on Friday.
CNN Business’ Nicole Goodkind contributed to this report.
Read More:Asian markets and currencies are tanking after a rough day on Wall Street
2022-05-06 05:59:00