By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Asia Pacific stocks were down on Monday morning as China for the first time in almost two years. Investors are still concerned by the U.S.’s tightening monetary policy and the spreading of omicron variants.

Japan’s fell 1.86% by 9:52 PM ET (2:52 AM GMT) ahead of a speech by the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday.

South Korea’s fell 1.33%.

The Australian dollar was 0.3% lower. On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia will release its meeting minutes.

Hong Kong’s was down 1.07%.

China’s was down 0.70% while the down 0.76%. China has cut its 1-year debt from 3.85% down to 3.8% for the first time since April 2020.

In America, investors expect to see a decreasing central bank stimulus and officials intensifying efforts to curb inflation. Christopher Waller, Federal Reserve Governor, expects that the central bank will begin raising its interest rates as soon as March 2022 after the Fed ended the purchase program several months sooner than originally planned.

A Democratic Senator Joe Manchin stated that he would not support the $2 trillion plan for social spending.

On the COVID-19 front, U.S. President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser Anthony Fauci said a shutdown will not be necessary though COVID-19 surges again. However, he stated that there will be a surge in cases due to the omicron variation.

“Omicron remains a concern and cases are on the rise,” Robert Schein, chief investment officer at Blanke Schein Wealth Management, told Bloomberg. “Investors should be prepared for COVID-19 to continue to be a main factor in market performance heading into 2022. After the bull run we’ve seen over the past 21 months, investors aren’t as used to prolonged periods of volatility.”