Asian stocks slip after Wall Street tumbles on virus fears

Tokyo — Asian shares fell on Wednesday as a US warning to Americans to prepare for the possibility of a coronavirus pandemic drove another Wall Street tumble and pushed yields on safe-haven treasuries to record lows.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both shed more than 3% on Tuesday in their fourth consecutive session of losses.

That led MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 1.28%. Japan was among the worst-performing market in the region, weighed by growing concerns the virus could cancel the Tokyo Olympics.

Yields on 10-year and 30-year US treasuries teetered near record lows and gold rose as worries about the economic effect of the virus outbreak boosted safe-haven assets.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the epidemic has peaked in China, but concern that its spread is accelerating in other countries is likely to keep investors on edge.

“What we are seeing is share markets are playing catch up,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.

“Other asset markets have been flashing warning signs for weeks. A corrective bounce in equities is possible, but we still have a lot of downward momentum.”

Chinese shares fell 1.3%. Shares in South Korea, which has been rattled by a sudden rise in virus infections, briefly hit a two-month low.

While the stock rout has been global, the recent pace of selling in Asia has not been as severe as it has on Wall Street, which has been hit hard by the escalation of virus cases outside Asia.

The S&P 500 lost $2.14-trillion in market capitalisation over the past four sessions, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices analyst Howard Silverblatt.

US stock futures rose 0.2% in Asia on Wednesday, but that did little to brighten the mood.

Adding to recent fears was an alert from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday warning Americans to prepare for the spread of coronavirus in the US, signalling a change in tone for the Atlanta-based US health agency.

The virus has claimed almost 3,000 lives in mainland China but has spread to dozens of other countries. Of increasing concern to investors, however, in the rising death toll in other countries.

Drastic travel restrictions slammed the brakes on China’s manufacturing and consumer spending, and there are worries other countries will face similar disruptions.

The virus has also hit Japan’s stocks hard on rising worries it could lead to cancellation of the 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled to start in Tokyo in July.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index slid 1.1%, while shares of Japan’s Dentsu Group, an advertising agency deeply involved in the planning and operation of the games, fell to a seven-year low on Wednesday.

Shares of sportswear makers and other companies related to the Olympics have also fallen recently.

The yield on benchmark 10-year treasury notes traded at 1.3421% on Wednesday in Asia, close to a record low of 1.3070% The 30-year yield stood at 1.8142%, above a record low of 1.7860%.

The decline in yields weighed on the dollar. The greenback was last quoted at ¥110.25, continuing a pullback from a 10-month high of ¥112.23.

The dollar traded at $1.0872 to the euro, off an almost three-year high of $1.0778 reached on February 20.

Spot gold rose 0.53% to $1,643.75/oz as investors sought safe havens.

Oil prices recovered some recent losses in Asia, but there are lingering concerns that expected output cuts by major oil producers will not be enough to offset a decline in global energy demand caused by the virus.

US crude ticked up 0.96% to $50.38 a barrel. Brent crude rose 0.78% to $55.38 a barrel. Opec and allies including Russia, a group known as Opec-plus, have been sending signals that they will cut output further.

However, oil could come under more pressure as weekly US supply reports due later on Wednesday are expected to show a rise in inventories, according to a Reuters poll.

Reuters