Stocks in Asia Pacific traded lower on Wednesday as caution remains over a recent resurgence in coronavirus cases in certain countries regionally.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.28% in early trade as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing fell more than 2%. The Topix index also slipped 0.99%.
South Korea's Kospi declined 1.07%.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia also traded lower, as the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.91%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.41% lower.
Developments on the coronavirus front likely continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Globally, more than 4.2 million people have been infected while at least 287,158 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Stateside, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday a vaccine will be essential in stopping the coronavirus spread, but warned it will be a while before a usable one is available. He also cautioned that the U.S. could risk additional outbreaks if states start to reopen too quickly.
In Asia, where the coronavirus first hit, several countries including China and South Korea have experienced an uptick in cases after restrictions were eased.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 457.21 points lower at 23,764.78 while the S&P 500 dropped about 2.1% to end its trading day at 2,870.12. The Nasdaq Composite also fell more than 2% to close at around 9,002.55.
Oil prices fell in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1.87% to $29.42 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also dropped 1.94% to $25.28 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.995 after trading above and below the 100 mark so far this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.14 per dollar, off levels above 107.4 seen yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6455 following highs above $0.654 seen earlier in the trading week.
What's on tap for Wednesday:
- Japan: Sony earnings for fiscal year 2019
— CNBC's Fred Imbert and Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.
"asia" - Google News
May 13, 2020 at 07:20AM
https://ift.tt/2yQSD9C
Stocks in Asia Pacific slip amid risks of new infections as economies reopen - CNBC
"asia" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YpEquI
https://ift.tt/2WkdbyX
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Stocks in Asia Pacific slip amid risks of new infections as economies reopen - CNBC"
Post a Comment