Asia stocks fall as delta variant worries take center stage

Asian stock markets are falling as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again take center stage

SINGAPORE -- Asian stock markets fell Friday as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again took center stage. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 27,013.25 and Seoul's Kospi fell 1.5% to 3,050.48. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.6% to 24,918.36 in afternoon trading. The Shanghai Composite Index gave up 1.3% to 3,421.81. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1% at 7,460.90. Benchmarks in Singapore and Indonesia rose, while India's and New Zealand's fell. Traders are watching mounting infections around the world, including in New Zealand, which is in lockdown after reporting its first outbreak in six months.