Asia markets rise as China says it will end quarantine for inbound travelers

CNBC – UPDATED TUE, DEC 27 20222:52 AM EST

Stocks in Asia rose as China officially announced overnight it will end quarantine for inbound travelers on Jan. 8 — symbolizing an end to its zero-Covid policy that it’s held for nearly three years.

The nation also downgraded Covid to a less strict Category B, health authorities said, from its current top-level Category A. Health officials are slated to hold a press briefing on Covid at 3 p.m. Beijing time.

The Shanghai Composite rose 0.98% to close at 3,095.57 and the Shenzhen Component gained 1.16% to 11,106.50 while markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were closed for Christmas holiday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.16% to 26,447.87 and the Topix gained 0.4% to 1,910.15 as the nation saw retail sales up for the 9th consecutive month led by tourism. The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.68% to 2,332.79 and the Kosdaq climbed 1.37% 704.19.

In the U.S., Wall Street ended last week with some gains for the S&P and Nasdaq Composite while posting a weekly loss as recession fears continued to batter investor sentiment. The core personal consumption expenditures price index for November came in at 4.7%, slightly hotter than expectations on an annualized basis.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/27/asia-markets-china-announces-quarantine-lift.html