Asian stocks mixed in quiet end of year trading

A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. Asian shares were mixed on Monday at the outset of the last trading week of the year as countries grappled with the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)