Asian markets mostly fell in early trading Thursday, as concerns about the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the global economy continued to be felt.
Japan’s Nikkei
NIK,
dropped 1.2% while South Korea’s Kospi
180721,
declined 0.6% as trading resumed following a holiday Wednesday for parliamentary elections, which the ruling Democratic Party won handily. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
HSI,
slipped 0.6% while the Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP,
was about flat. Benchmark indexes in Singapore
STI,
, Malaysia
FBMKLCI,
Taiwan
Y9999,
and Indonesia
JAKIDX,
declined. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
fell 1.4%, as jobless numbers in March came in better than expected, though April numbers are expected to be much worse, once the impact of coronavirus-related shutdowns are taken into effect.
Stocks on Wall Street ended lower Wednesday after disappointing earnings reports and dismal economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
fell 445.41 points, or 1.9%, to close at 23,504.35. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
sank 122.56 points, or 1.4%, to 8,393.18. The S&P 500
SPX,
dropped 62.70 points, or 2.2%, to end at 2,783.36.
Benchmark U.S. crude
CLK20,
gained after falling Wednesday to its lowest price since 2002. Brent crude
BRNM20,
, the global standard, also rose.
The dollar
USDJPY,
rose to 107.87 yen.
Source : MTV
