Asian shares mostly lower, extending Wall Street losses

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mostly lower in Asia after Wall Street logged its worst week since the pandemic began in 2020. Benchmarks declined in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney but rose in Shanghai. U.S. futures were higher. Investors have been growing increasingly worried about how aggressively the Federal Reserve might act to cool rising inflation. At the same time, outbreaks of the omicron variant of the coronavirus threaten to slow recoveries from the crisis. The benchmark S&P 500 sank 1.9% on Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dipped 2.7%. It has fallen for four straight weeks and is now more than 10% below its most recent high, putting it in what Wall Street considers a market correction.