MNI BRIEF: Chinese Markets Stable As New Virus Strain Eyed

The Chinese yuan rallied on the outbreak of new Covid-19 variant Omicron with shares little changes though the global outbreak is being closely watched as a challenge to economic recovery.

The yuan traded at 6.3821 against the U.S. dollar from 6.3913 on Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.04% to 3,562.70. The yield on 10-year China government Bond was last at 2.8800%, up from Friday's close of 2.8700%.

Ming Ming, head of fixed income research at CITIC Securities, noted Monday the yuan is likely to stay resilient as the rising demand at the year-end would offset the impact of the Omicron news. There is no official report on any Omicron case in China.

At the weekend, the World Health Organization called for caution after two South African health experts, including the doctor who first sounded the alarm about the Omicron variant, indicated that symptoms linked to the coronavirus strain have been mild so far.

"Understanding the level of severity of the omicron variant will take days to several weeks," WHO said in a statement. "There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants."