Hong Kong market weighed down by Wuhan pneumonia, suffers worst fall in over five months
- Shanghai Composite falls most in over two months
- Australia reports first suspected Wuhan virus case, death toll rises to four in China
Good morning from a gloomy Hong Kong, where the day’s agenda looks set to be dominated by news of the human-to-human spread in mainland China of the Wuhan pneumonia coronavirus. Trading in Hong Kong was already subdued on Monday, with stocks lacking momentum post the US-China phase one trade deal.
The mainland markets, ironically, posted a strong start to a week shortened by the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Friday. The American markets were shut for Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday, so the main impetus is expected to be news coming out from mainland China.
Join us as we track all the day’s big headlines, particularly those about pharmaceutical, airline and consumer stocks, as well as tourism companies, casinos and film producers.
– Yujing Liu and Azar Zaidi in Hong Kong