Equities take a beating as investors reassess risk of virus

Tokyo — Asian shares and US stock futures tumbled on Friday as disruptions to business from the coronavirus worsened, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index sank 2.94%. Australian shares were down 2.44%.

Europe looked set to follow Asia lower, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures shedding 2.44%, Germany’s DAX futures down 2.33% and FTSE futures off 1.94%.

US stock futures erased early gains to trade down 1.21%.

Yields on 10-year US Treasuries fell to a record low and Treasury futures jumped as investors increased bets that the Federal Reserve will follow this week’s surprise 50 basis point rate cut with further easing to prevent corporate bond spreads from widening further.

Rapidly falling yields hammered the dollar, which fell to a six-month low vs the yen and close to a two-year trough against the Swiss franc.

Oil prices also fell due to worries that non-Opec oil producers might not agree to output cuts even though global energy demand is weakening.

The spread of the coronavirus has accelerated so much in Europe, Britain and North America that investors who once played down the virus or thought it would be largely confined to Asia are now reassessing the risks, which means more volatility in financial markets.

“Given the pace of US inflation, yields are too low and I certainly don’t want to buy Treasuries at this level,” said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in Tokyo.

“But the fact that other people are buying shows very strong desire to escape from risk. This is a panic.”

Shares in China fell 1.22%, while stocks in Hong Kong, another city hard hit by the virus, fell 2.12%.

Business disruptions growing 

The S&P 500 tumbled 3.39% on Thursday. The benchmark has skidded more than 10% from its February 19 closing high, and last week saw its biggest weekly percentage decline since October 2008.

Officials and companies in Britain, France, Italy, and the US are struggling to deal with a steady rise in virus infections that have in some cases triggered corporate defaults, office evacuations, and panic buying of daily necessities.

The flu-like virus emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has since spread to more than 80 countries. It has claimed more than 3,000 lives, and though new infections have slowed in China there are concerns other countries are not prepared.

Travel restrictions and factory closings aimed at curbing the spread of the virus are expected to pressure global growth.

Many investors were awaiting the release of US non-farm payrolls later on Friday. Recent US economic data has been encouraging, but concerns about the epidemic are likely to overshadow any signs of a strong labour market.

The Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada both responded to the economic threats by cutting interest rates by 50 basis points this week.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell to a record low of 0.8100% on Friday. The two-year yield skidded to 0.4810%, the lowest since April 2015.

Treasury futures, normally subdued in Asia, rose by 25 ticks.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve president Neel Kashkari said late on Thursday the Fed could cut rates further if needed.

Money markets are pricing in another 25 basis point cut from the current 1% to 1.25% range at the next Fed meeting on March 18-19 and a 50 basis point cut by April.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to a six-month low and was last at ¥105.84. The greenback also sank to a two-year trough of 0.9438 Swiss franc.

Sterling traded near a one-week high vs the dollar.

The euro held steady at $1.1232. Markets in the eurozone are pricing in a 93% chance that the European Central Bank will cut its deposit rate, now minus 0.50%, by 10 basis points next week.

US crude fell 1.13% to $45.38 a barrel, while Brent fell 1.12% to $49.43, with worries about a decline in global demand due to the virus outbreak and uncertainty about production cuts hurting prices.

Reuters

Source: businesslive.co.za