London: Shares in the US and Asia have fallen on fears about the impact of lockdowns in China on global economic growth, BBC reported.
On Tuesday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index closed at its lowest level since late 2020.
Tesla was a big faller, with more than $125 bn wiped off its market value as boss Elon Musk moves ahead with his takeover of Twitter.
Concerns about earnings reports from some of the world’s biggest technology firms also weighed on markets.
At the same time, news that Russia will cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria also added to the negative sentiment, BBC reported.
Investors were already worried about the prospects for aggressive interest rate hikes in the US and around the world to combat rising global inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Authorities in Beijing are trying to stamp out a Covid-19 outbreak and avoid a repeat of the city-wide restrictions that have kept Shanghai in lockdown for a month.
That has raised concerns about the prospects for growth in the world’s second largest economy and the potential knock-on effect globally.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.2 per cent lower, while South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 1.1 per cent.
That followed stock market falls in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 2.4 per cent lower and the Nasdaq losing almost 4 per cent on Tuesday, BBC reported.
Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told the BBC that there were concerns over a possible lockdown of Beijing.
“The extended lockdown in Shanghai and other parts of the country has seriously damaged economic activity and consumer sentiment,” Tan said.
“Beijing alone contributes about 3.5 per cent of China’s GDP, while Shanghai contributes around 4 per cent. So it would be a massive blow to the overall economy if these two cities were to be locked down at the same time,” he added.
–IANS
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