BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mixed Monday on 2022′s first trading day after Wall Street ended last year with a double-digit gain.
The Hang Seng HSI, -0.67% in Hong Kong lost 0.6% while Seoul’s Kospi 180721, +0.31% rose 0.2%.
Benchmark indexes in Singapore STI, +0.28%, Jakarta JAKIDX, +0.84% and Malaysia FBMKLCI, -1.16% advanced. Markets in Japan, mainland China and Australia were closed for holidays.
Also Monday, Singapore’s government announced its economy grew by 7.2% last year, rebounding from the previous year’s 5.4% contraction.
On Friday, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.26% slipped 0.3% to 4,766.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.16% slid 0.2% to 36,338.30. The Nasdaq COMP, -0.61% fell 0.6% to 15,644.97.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index slipped Friday amid lingering worries about the coronavirus’s omicron variant but ended 2021 with an annual gain of 26.9%.
“It remains to be seen to what extent the optimism of the New Year will be reflected in financial markets,” said Venkateswaran Levanya of Mizuho Bank in a report.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude CLG22, +0.90% rose 40 cents to $75.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.78 on Friday to $75.21. Brent crude BRNH22, +0.90%, the price basis for international oils, gained 35 cents to $78.13 per barrel in London. It lost $1.75 the previous session to $77.78 per barrel.
The dollar USDJPY, +0.21% advanced to 115.28 yen from Friday’s 115.09 yen.