Nikkei 225 Falls 0.92% to 28,284 as Omicron Fears, Wall Street Selloff Weigh on Japanese Stocks

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dropped 261.38 points, or 0.92%, to close at 28,284.30 on Monday, extending Friday's sharp losses amid broad weakness tied to Omicron variant concerns and fresh European lockdowns. Wall Street closed lower Friday, with the Dow falling 532.20 points (1.5%) to 35,365.44 and the S&P 500 losing 48.03 points (1%) to 4,620.64. The Nasdaq slipped 10.75 points (0.1%) to 15,169.68. European markets also declined, with the FTSE 100 down 0.4% Japanese financials led losses. Shinsei Bank fell nearly 6%, Bridgestone dropped almost 4%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial each lost nearly 2%. Honda declined over 2%. Advantest, NEC, and Trend Micro gained over 1-2%. The dollar traded in the mid-113 yen range. WTI crude for January delivery fell $1.52 (2.1%) to $70.86 a barrel.