Asian markets mostly higher after sanctions against Russia

Asian shares were mostly higher and oil prices went up Monday after the Group of Seven democracies agreed on a boycott of Russian oil and a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian exports.

As Chinese authorities begin lifting some of the most stringent restrictions on the coronaviruses, hopes for fewer disruptions to manufacturing and trade have risen even as their zero-COVID strategy aims to isolate every infected person is still in place. The curbs included lockdowns of neighborhoods or buildings, mandatory testing and shutdowns of factories and other businesses.

China recently saw several days of protests across cities including Shanghai and Beijing as public frustration with the COVID 19 curbs boiled into unrest. Some demanded that Chinese President Xi Jinping step down in a show of public dissent in a society over which the ruling Communist Party exercises near total control.

In Asian trading, the Nikkei 225 NIK was flat, and the Kospi 180721, in Seoul fell 0.6%. The S&P ASX 200 XJO advanced 0.5% in Sydney. Stocks fell slightly in Indonesia JAKIDX, but rose in Singapore STI, and Taiwan Y 9999, U.S. benchmark crude oil CLF 23, picked up 90 cents to $80.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.24 per barrel on Friday to $79.98 per barrel.

After the OPEC oil cartel and allied producers decided not to change their targets for shipping oil to the global economy, a European Union boycott of most Russian oil and the price cap resulted in a 94 cents increase in Brent crude BRNG 23, said 94 cents to $86.51 per barrel.

It was not clear how much Russian oil the two sanctions measures would remove from the global market, tightening supply and driving up prices. The oil producer has been able to reroute much of its former Europe shipments to customers in India, China and Turkey.

Shares were mixed Friday on Wall Street, as investors fretted about inflation after a report showed that U.S. wages were accelerating. The Federal Reserve may not be able to relax back as much as hoped on its big interest-rate hikes, which revived fears that it might not be able to do as well as hoped.

The S&P 500 SPX was a 0.1% drop to 4,071. 70 and the Dow industrials DJIA gained 0.1% to 34,429. The Nasdaq COMP fell by 0.2% to 11,461. The dollarUSDJPY fell to 134.29 Japanese yen from 134.39 yen late Friday.