Asian markets came under pressure Thursday as the number of new coronavirus outbreak victims soared in China.
China’s Hubei province reported nearly , (0 new cases of COVID – due to a change in diagnosis methodology, according to a statement by Hubei officials , which was reported by other media outlets such as the New York Times . Chinese officials said the change was made so that more patients could receive treatment, but the new numbers threw more uncertainty at the severity of the outbreak and China’s ability to contain it.
“The China announcement has shaken Asia’s confidence this morning ”and“ has poured a sizeable cold bucket of reality onto investors, ”Jeffrey Halley, senior Asia-Pacific market analyst at Oanda, wrote in a note. “The argument that it was a one-off adjustment versus the integrity of China’s data collection has left Asian stock markets in somewhat of a limbo.”
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, – 0. (%) retreated 0.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, – 0. (%) slipped 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, – 0. % declined 0.6% and the Shenzhen Composite , – 0 . (% ) fell 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi , – 0. 33% advanced 0.3%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan Y , 0. (% ) , Singapore STI, – 0. % , Malaysia (FBMKLCI, – 0.) % and Indonesia JAKIDX, – 0. 90% were mostly lower. Australia’s S & P / ASX XJO, 0. (%) inched up 0.2%.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank , – 5. (%) and Nissan , -1. fell in Tokyo trading, while Honda 01575879, 1. % and Inpex , -0. 24% rose. In Hong Kong, Country Garden , 0. (%) and Tencent 1093, 0. (%) advanced, while CSPC Pharmaceutical 2020, – 1. (%) and China Life Insurance , – 1. 76% fell. Samsung , 0. % rose in South Korea, while Beach Energy BPT , – 3. % sank in Australia.
On Wednesday, US stocks ended higher , with all three major benchmarks registering all-time closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0. % rose points, or 0.9%, to end at , , while the S&P (SPX, 0. % added 42. points or 0.7%, to finish at 3, . The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP, 0. 200% ended at 9, 1605. , a gain of . points, or 0.9%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) , – 0. (%) futures were down points, or 0.4%, to , .
Benchmark crude oil CLH , – 0. 14% was flat $ 24 a barrel. Brent crude oil (BRNJ) , – 0. (%) , the international benchmark, slipped 0.3% to $ 70. (a barrel.)
The dollar USDJPY, – 0. (%) fell 0.3% to . Japanese yen from yen on Wednesday.
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