Asia-Pacific stocks end mixed in cautious trading as jittery investors weigh coronavirus damage
- China’s manufacturing sector continued to be hammered by the coronavirus in March
- South Korea is first major country to hold general elections amid virus
Mainland China and other Asia stocks finished mixed in cautious trading Friday, as jittery investors weighed the latest death tolls and economic wreckage of the coronavirus.
Hong Kong and several other major markets were closed for Good Friday.
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve announced US$2.3 trillion in emergency loans to help the world’s largest economy reeling from the coronavirus.
The US has become home to the largest number of coronavirus infection cases – roughly one in three of the world’s total – and, with more than 16,000 dead, it is second only to Italy in total deaths. The latest jobless claims numbers overnight mean that nearly 17 million Americans have been thrown out of work by the virus, which has led to most of the country to be under lockdown.
Wall Street stocks rose on the Fed steps, which include assistance to small businesses and local governments and the purchase of high-yield bonds.
“When the virus does run its course, and it’s safe to go back to work and safe for businesses to open, then we would expect there to be a fairly quick rebound,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said.