Asia Fears Summer of Virus as Stocks Sell Off on Delta Concern
- Southeast Asia struggles with fresh cases, slow vaccinations
- Japan, Singapore, Australia also fighting rise in infections
A worker refills oxygen tanks for hospitals at a distribution facility in Jakarta, on July 6.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant continued to weigh on risk assets Monday with Asian markets in the crosshairs as the region struggles with worsening outbreaks amid a slow vaccine rollout.
The regional stock benchmark dropped as much as 1.4% with bourses in Southeast Asia leading declines. The main Philippine gauge fell the most since March after the country reported its first local cases of the variant on Friday, while Vietnam’s VN Index is on track to fall into a technical correction on fresh restrictions.