Hong Kong follows most Asia-Pacific markets lower as IMF warns ‘Great Lockdown’ is the worst downturn since Great Depression

The Hang Seng Index sheds 1.2 per cent to 24,145.34, with oil stocks weighing on the benchmark

The IMF expects China’s first-quarter economic growth to slow to 1.2 per cent

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Tokyo metropolitan government staff urge people to stay home after the government imposed a state of emergency for the Japanese capital and some prefectures following the Covid-19. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:36am, 15 Apr 2020Updated: 5:39pm, 15 Apr 2020

Hong Kong and most Asia-Pacific stocks declined Wednesday on fears about the economic pain of the coronavirus as the International Monetary Fund warned the “Great Lockdown” will be the world’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.2 per cent to 24,145.34, with oil stocks among those weighing on the benchmark. WH Group, the world's top pork producer, dropped 3.2 per cent to HK$7.51. Its subsidiary Smithfield Foods shut one of the largest plants in US after employees at the facility caught the coronavirus.

The IMF expects China’s first-quarter economic growth to slow to 1.2 per cent, depressing investor sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region.

The IMF, in its first outlook report since the virus spread, said that, if the pandemic and containment peaks in the second quarter and recedes in the second half of the year, global growth in 2020 will fall to negative 3 per cent. That is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January.

The Great Lockdown is the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis, said Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s research economic counsellor and director. Photo: AFP

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Hong Kong follows most Asia-Pacific markets lower as IMF warns ‘Great Lockdown’ is the worst downturn since Great Depression

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The Hang Seng Index sheds 1.2 per cent to 24,145.34, with oil stocks weighing on the benchmark The IMF expects China’s first-quarter economic growth to slow to 1.2 per cent

The Hang Seng Index sheds 1.2 per cent to 24,145.34, with oil stocks weighing on the benchmark

The IMF expects China’s first-quarter economic growth to slow to 1.2 per cent