TOKYO — Asian shares skidded again Tuesday on deepening worries over the expanding outbreak of a new virus in China.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were closed Tuesday for Lunar New Year holidays, while South Korea’s 180721, -3.09% benchmark tumbled 3.2% as it reopened after its own holidays.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index NIK, -0.55% lost 0.9% , while Australia’s S&P ASX/200 XJO, -1.35% slipped 1.6%. Shares also fell in Taiwan Y9999, +0.24% , Jakarta JAKIDX, -0.52% and Singapore STI, -1.86% .
China has extended its national holiday by three days so that offices should reopen on Monday. Shanghai’s holiday was extended until Feb. 9.
Overnight, a sell-off on Wall Street gave the Dow its first 5-day losing streak since early August and handed the S&P 500 its worst day since early October. The latest bout of selling on Wall Street came after China announced a sharp rise in cases of the virus.
“How long and how deep the correction lower will last, depends both on the success of China’s efforts to control the viral spread, and the prevalence of its occurrence internationally,” Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.
Airlines, resorts and other companies that rely on travel and tourism suffered steep losses. Gold prices rose as did bonds as traders sought refuge in safer holdings.
“Over the weekend you saw more cases,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “That got investors and traders worried that this may be a longer event. The next question is, ‘What happens to global growth if this does continue and magnify?’”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.57% fell 453.93 points, or 1.6%, to 28,535.80. The Dow had been down nearly 550 points. The S&P 500 index SPX, -1.57% dropped 51.84 points, or 1.6%, to 3,243.63. The Nasdaq COMP, -1.89% lost 175.60 points, or 1.9%, to 9,139.31.
Chinese authorities extended the public holiday for the Lunar New Year by an extra three days to limit public gatherings. The virus has spread to a dozen countries, including the U.S. Besides the threat to people’s lives and health, investors are worried about how much damage the virus will do to profits for companies around the world.
Even if they’re thousands of miles away from Wuhan, the interconnected global economy means U.S. companies have plenty of customers and suppliers in China. It’s the world’s second-largest economy, and it accounts for 6% of all revenue for S&P 500 companies over the last 12 months. That’s nearly double any other country besides the United States, according to FactSet.
“Markets hate uncertainty, and the coronavirus is the ultimate uncertainty in that no one knows how badly it will impact the global economy,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell.
Benchmark crude CLH20, +0.02% oil lost 28 cents to $52.86 a barrel. Brent crude oil BRNH20, -0.13% , the international standard, fell 24 cents to $58.34.
The dollar USDJPY, +0.16% inched down to 108.91 Japanese yen from 108.94 yen on Monday.
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January 28, 2020 at 10:32AM
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Asian markets sink on continued worries about China virus - MarketWatch
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