Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after a post-holiday retreat on Wall Street, as markets count down to the end of a painful year for investors.
Shares fell in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul but rose in Hong Kong as the Chinese government took further steps to reopen to foreign travel after relaxing its stringent zero-COVID policies.
Oil prices fell back and US futures inched higher.
The Chinese government announced it will start issuing new passports in another major step away from anti-virus travel barriers.
That sets up a potential flood of tourists out of China for next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, taking free-spending Chinese visitors to Asia, Europe and other destinations during what usually is the country’s busiest travel season.
But governments in India and Japan have said they will impose extra precautions on those arriving from China due to widespread virus outbreaks there.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to convey internal discussions, also .
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