Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1% to finish at 29,332.16. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3% to 7,565.80. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.3% to 2,950.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.3% to 22,985.05, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.0% to 3,596.03.
Analysts expect trading in Asia to stay choppy for some time. Reported daily COVID-19 cases are still small, compared to Europe and the U.S. But the surges are coming quickly, topping 1,000 in Japan recently. The slide in technology stocks left the S&P 500 slightly lower on Wall Street on Tuesday, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average marked another all-time high.
The job market will be a major focus for investors, starting with the Labor Department's jobs report for December, which will be released Friday.