Nikkei 225 Down 0.7% as Omicron Concerns Again Roil Markets

The Nikkei 225 opened lower on Thursday and could not gain ground, finishing off 0.7% as traders again warily weighed the outlook for the domestic and global economies given the spreading omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. Japan authorities confirmed the nation's second case of the omicron variant on Wednesday, reported Kyodo News.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 182.25 to 27,753.37, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 149 to 73.

Leading the upside on a down day were shipping companies Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (KAKKF, 9107), up 11%, Mitsui OSK (MSLOF, 9104), up 7.6%, and then Nippon Yusen (NYUKF, 9101), up 5.3%.

On the downside were Mitsubishi Chemical (MTLHY, 4188), off 8.2% after announcing certain business restructurings, and tech financier SoftBank (SFTBY, 9984), off 5.1%.

In other news, the Japanese government revised its plan to completely halt bookings for inbound international flights this month, and will take into consideration the desire of travelers to return home, reported Kyodo News.