Asian shares faltered on Monday as anxious investors wait to see if U.S. earnings can justify sky-high valuations, while a rally in bonds could be tested by what should be very strong readings for U.S. inflation and retail sales this week.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 1.1% in slow trade. Tokyo’s Nikkei edged down 0.6%, while South Korean stocks were near flat.
The Nifty 50 index slid 2.4% as India overtook Brazil to become the country with the second most COVID-19 cases.
Chinese blue chips lost 1.5% ahead of a rush of economic figures from the country.
Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd rose 16% after China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on the e-commerce giant. Over a third of the stock is held by U.S. investors, and it makes up more than 8% of the MSCI EM index.
