Asian markets close Monday in red

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Major Asian stock markets, except for the Hang Seng benchmark, closed Monday down, amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and China's COVID-19 measures, which have negatively affected the country’s economy.

The Chinese economy grew by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2022, above market expectations but below the government's official target of 5.5%. The COVID-19 measures are expected to have a greater impact on the second quarter.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, lost 28.95 points, or 0.83%, to close at around 3,469 points.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange was down 293.48 points, or 1.08%, to 26,799.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was only the index posting an increase, up 143.71 points, or 0.67%, to 21,518.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange lost 15.72 points, or 0.49%, to close at 3,195 points.

The Indian Sensex benchmark was down 1,172 points, or 2.01%, to end the day at 57,166 points.

The Singapore index fell 32.78 points, or 0.98%, to 3,303.