Trading Day – China hit by new Covid wave

China reported a spike in new daily Covid cases, higher than the Omicron surge that led to the Shanghai lockdowns.

However, the majority of the nearly 32,000 new Covid cases have been asymptomatic.

Over 20,000 new hires at Apple supplier Foxconn’s major China plant have left amid strict Covid restrictions and the resulting worker unrest.

The Nikkei 225 is down 0.3% in early morning trade, while the Hang Seng index dropped 0.9%.

Here is the biggest news of the day.

• China reported a spike in new daily Covid cases, higher than the Omicron surge that led to the Shanghai lockdowns. Mainland China reported nearly 32,000 Covid infections on Wednesday, including cases without symptoms. That surpassed the 28,973 high seen in mid-April during the Shanghai lockdown. However, daily Covid infections with symptoms remain well below the high seen in April. Nearly 90% or more of total Covid cases reported in recent days have been asymptomatic.

• Over 20,000 new hires at Apple supplier Foxconn’s major China plant have left amid strict Covid restrictions and the resulting worker unrest. The employees were mostly new hires not yet working on production lines. The departures from the world’s largest iPhone factory dealt a fresh blow to the Taiwanese company that has been grappling with strict Covid restrictions. The restrictions have fuelled discontent among the factory’s roughly 200,000 workers, and videos of renewed worker unrest have been widely shared on social media.

• Woolworths adds a secondary A2X listing. The listing will bring the number of instruments listed on A2X to 91.

• Mahube Infrastructure expects earnings to drop by nearly half. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the half-year period ended August are expected to decline between 47% and 57% from last year to between R0.26 and R0.32. The company’s interim financial results are due on 30 November.