Coronavirus spread in US drives down market sentiment, with Hong Kong and China joining major Asia peers in falls
- US sees cases top 1,000, with clusters on both coasts
- Markets waiting to hear President Trump’s plan to boost world’s largest economy smacked about by the virus
Hong Kong and China stocks slid Wednesday, as coronavirus infection cases topped 1,000 in the US and investors waited for President Donald Trump’s stimulus plan to boost the virus-stricken American economy.
Asia stocks fell as well, with Australia entering a bear market, joining Japan.
As China digs itself out of the virus outbreak that began there, the US and the rest of the world are in the midst of a nightmare of increased infections and deaths, as well as disruptions to travel, work, school and other mainstays.
“Once again, the US Covid-19 case count has become the market mega talking point in most circles again today,” Stephen Innes, chief market strategist of currency trading platform AxiCorp, wrote in a fresh note.
“And it was causing risk sentiment to pivot south, triggering a more significant buy into gold in Asia this morning. There is no escaping that inevitable headline as the Covid-19 headcount numbers will climb rapidly higher from current levels, possibly in an explosive way. And it’s going to hit the market like a ton of bricks when the terminals start flashing red.
“The question is, can we stand another few weeks in Covid-19 purgatory with the markets on the precipice of a cliff edge?” Innes asked.