Asian shares skid after S&P 500 logs 1st monthly drop of ’21

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

Asian markets have tumbled on the tail of Wall Street’s worst monthly loss since the beginning of the pandemic. Tokyo skidded 2% and Australia’s benchmark sank 2.3%. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for holidays. The S&P 500 ended September down 4.8%, its first monthly drop since January and the biggest since March 2020. After climbing steadily for much of the year, the stock market became unsettled in recent weeks with the spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19, surging long-term bond yields and word that the Federal Reserve may start to unwind its support for the economy. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% Thursday. It’s still up 14.7% for the year.