Asia shares mixed as investors weigh omicron economic risks

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mixed as investors continue to cautiously weigh how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy. Benchmarks in Japan and Australia rose, but shares fell in South Korea. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading lower, while the Shanghai Composite was higher. Some analysts think a serious economic downturn can be averted because more people have been vaccinated, but a return to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity has been dramatically delayed. Another concern is the lower vaccination rate in some parts of Asia. Wall Street share prices steadied from last week’s slide.