China reported record-high Covid-19 infections on Thursday (Nov 24). Cities nationwide have imposed localised lockdowns which dampens the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.

Meanwhile, the brokerage Nomura cut its China Gross Domestic Product forecast for the fourth quarter to 2.4 per cent year on year from 2.8 per cent, and cut its forecast for full-year growth to 2.8 per cent from 2.9 per cent, which is far short of China's official target of about 5.5 per cent this year.