HONG KONG: Asian shares lost ground on Friday despite gains on Wall Street, as the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus across the region heightened worries about its economic recovery.
Uncertainty about Chinese policy has also left investors in Asia nervous, though this week regional indices clawed back some of last week's losses caused by Beijing's crackdowns on the technology and education sectors.
"International investors are still wrapping their head around what happened in the education sector . I expect that will continue to drive sentiment. The regulatory drive is not over yet, it should continue to be a factor in the next three to six months or so," he said. This is weighing on shares in Asia and while the MSCI Asian benchmark is up 1.6% this week, it is still down just over 10% from all time highs hit in February.Elsewhere in the region, PT Bukalapak.com Tbk, an Indonesian e-commerce company backed by Ant Group and Singapore sovereign fund GIC, rose nearly 25% on its market debut after raising $1.5 billion in the country's biggest initial public offering.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at record levels on Thursday after a spate of strong corporate earnings and a further decline in U.S. unemployment claims. Eyes are now on the jobs report for July due in the U.S. session.
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