Asian Shares Rise Save For Japan Even As China Protests Continue

Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as jitters over protests in China set off by growing public anger over COVID-19 restrictions subsided. US futures edged higher. Oil prices rose more than $1 per barrel, Yuri Kageyama reported for the Associated Press (AP) from Tokyo.

Photo Insert: Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 28,016.58.

Chinese shares rebounded after they were hit by sharp losses on Monday following protests over the weekend in various Chinese cities. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4% to 17,981.31, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.3% to 3,148.17.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 28,016.58. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 7,249.80. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8% to 2,427.13.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude added $1.37 to $78.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.81 to $85.00 a barrel. In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 138.53 Japanese yen from 138.90 yen. The euro cost $1.0387, up from $1.0344.

Allison Morrow of CNN Business reported that the Chinese are at their breaking point, and their anger is directly targeting President Xi Jining and the Party leadership.

During the first night of the demonstrations in Shanghai, a crowd shouted “Step down, Xi Jinping! Step down, Communist Party!” the Associated Press (AP) also reported. The prospect of social upheaval in the world’s second-biggest economy has sent a chill through global markets.

On Monday, the Dow fell more than 500 points, following declines in European and Asian indices. On Tuesday, China flooded the streets of major cities with battalions of police and security servicemen who were armed to the teeth, Reuters reported.

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