Traders dump Asean stocks on fears Omicron will hammer region

This photograph taken on December 1, 2021 shows syringes and a screen displaying Omicron, the name of the new covid 19 variant in Toulouse, southwestern France. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

MANILA, Dec 6 (Bloomberg): Emerging-market traders are taking the once-bitten, twice-shy approach with South-East Asia and omicron, dumping shares from the region that was most impacted when the delta variant arrived.

The MSCI AC Asean Index has fallen about 4% since U.S. Thanksgiving -- when omicron first made its presence known in markets -- underperforming the near 2% decline in Latin American shares and tiny gain in Eastern European equities. The gauge of southeast Asian stocks slumped almost 7% in the two months after the delta variant was officially named at the end of May.