Asian stocks fall on concern about virus, tighter Fed policy

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Monday amid concern about the coronavirus's latest variant and tighter Federal Reserve policy.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated at the start of a trading week that ends with many closing early for Christmas.

Wall Street fell Friday as traders took money off the table after the Fed indicated it would fight inflation by speeding up the withdrawal of economic stimulus.

Meanwhile, the spread of the omicron variant fueled fears that renewed curbs on business and travel might worsen supply chain disruptions and boost inflation.

“Omicron threatens to be the Grinch to rob Christmas,” Mizuho Bank's Vishnu Varathan said in a report. The market "prefers safety to nasty surprises.”

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% to 3,605.21 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 2.1% to 27,942.84. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.5% to 22,837.64.

The Kospi in Seoul retreated 1.5% to 2,971.59 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 7,292.10.

India's Sensex opened down 2.1% at 55,811.05. New Zealand gained while Singapore and Jakarta retreated.

The U.S. government warned Sunday of a possible surge of “breakthrough infections” due to Americans traveling for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Last week, stocks briefly rallied but then fell after Fed officials said they were willing to speed up withdrawal of stimulus that has boosted financial markets.

Also potentially weighing on sentiment, a U.S. senator said Sunday he wouldn't support President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure, social spending and climate plan. Joe Manchin's announcement possibly dooms the plan's chances in the evenly split Senate.

On Friday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1% to 4,620.64, turning in its third losing week...