Asian markets broadly fell in morning trading today, tracking uncertainty over the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as well as disappointing US jobs data and the future of Chinese tech firms on Wall Street, AFP reports.

The Omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries but no deaths have yet been reported, with authorities worldwide racing to determine how contagious it is and how effective existing vaccines are at fighting it.

“Omicron-related uncertainty will linger while market participants wait to learn about the severity, infectiousness and resistance of the strain,” Kim Mundy, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.