Japan's Nikkei 225 jumps more than 1% as investors assess omicron risks

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday morning trade as investors continue to monitor the situation surrounding the omicron Covid variant.

Japanese stocks led gains regionally, with the Nikkei 225 in Japan rising 1.39% while the Topix index advanced 1.19%. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.58%.

Shares in Australia rose in morning trade as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.13%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.2% higher.

Investors will continue tracking the situation around the omicron variant, which has cast a shadow over the festive holiday period as curbs have already been introduced in countries across Europe.

Global stocks tumbled on Monday as concerns surrounding the fast-spreading omicron strain weighed on investor sentiment.

Overnight stateside, the major averages dropped more than 1% each amid the uncertainty around omicron. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 433.28 points, or 1.23%, to 34,932.16 while the S&P 500 shed 1.14% to 4,568.02. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.24% to 14,980.94.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.551 — off levels above 96.6 seen recently.

The Japanese yen traded at 113.65 per dollar, stronger than levels above 114 seen against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.711, still struggling to recover after last week's decline from above $0.72.