SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan looked set for a lower start on Wednesday as investors assessed the impact of the omicron Covid variant.

Chicago’s Nikkei futures contract was 28,995, while Osaka’s counterpart was 28,960. Compare that to Nikkei 225’sLast close: 29,069.16

Australian stocks rose after returning to trading on Tuesday and Monday, following holiday. S&P/ASX 200The jump was around 1%

Asia-Pacific investors will keep an eye on developments regarding the omicron version. A study from South Africa foundPeople infected with the Omicron Covid Variant of the virus appear to have a stronger immune system than before and are more likely to be protected against the effects of delta.

Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 declined 0.1% to 4,786.35, falling from the record close it saw on Monday. Also, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.56% at 15,781.72. Outperformed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose 95.83 points, to 36,398.21

The U.S. dollar indexThe, which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket containing its peers, stood at 96.153 following a rebound from around 96.

The Japanese yenThe dollar traded at 114.74, which is still lower than the levels of 114.5 earlier in this week. The Australian dollarAfter recent drops from over $0.725, $0.723 was changed.