Japanese shares fell Tuesday with energy-related companies taking the brunt of a collapse in Crude Oil prices, while the virus pandemic curbed any risk appetite ahead of corporate earnings.
The Nikkei share average fell 1.97% to 19,280.78, slipping further from Friday’s near 6-wk high at 19,922. The broader Topix lost 1.15% to 1,415.89.
China and Hong Kong stocks dropped Tuesday as caution recaptured world markets after US Crude Oil futures recorded a historic dive overnight, cautioning investors to stay away from riskier assets.
At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.35% to 2,813.95 pts.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 1.66%, with its financial sector sub-index dropping 1.3%, the consumer staples sector down 1.91%, the real estate index down 1.49% and the healthcare sub-index down 1.77%.
Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 2.17% to 9,611.3, while the Hang Seng Index was down 2.29% to 23,772.36.
Australian shares finished lower Tuesday as energy stocks were hammered by a historic dive in US Crude Oil prices amid a collapse in demand due to the coronavirus chaos.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.7% to 5,314.5 by 0033 GMT and hit its lowest level since 9 April.
In New Zealand: the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 slid 0.3% to 10,733.
Southeast Asian stock markets were hammered Tuesday, after a historic dive in US Crude futures to below Zero highlighted the damage wreaked by the coronavirus chaos.
Broader Asian markets were also trading lower.
Malaysian stocks were down as much as 2%, set for their worst day since 1 April. Press Metal Aluminium weakened as much as 5.8% to a one-week low, while CIMB Group tumbled 4.5%.
The Indonesian and Thai indexes both fell nearly 2%. Tourindo Guide Indonesia dropped to 5-wk lows, while Surapon Foods touched its lowest in near two weeks.
Singapore stocks shed as much as 1.6% to hit their lowest marks since 13 April. Sembcorp Industries declined as much as 4.4% to its lowest since 7 April, while Wilmar International lost 3.5% to hit its lowest since 6 April.
ASIA-PACIFIC INDICES
Data as of 21 April 2020. All quotes delayed at least 15 mins.
| Symb | Index | Time | Last | Chg | Chg % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .TRXFLDJPP | Thomson Reuters Equity Japan Index | 2:52am EDT | 124.09 | -1.56 | -1.24% |
| .TRXFLDHKP | Thomson Reuters Equity HK Index | 2:52am EDT | 269.28 | -5.14 | -1.87% |
| .TRXFLDINP | Thomson Reuters Equity India Index | 2:51am EDT | 1,035.16 | -28.73 | -2.70% |
| .N225 | Nikkei Stock Average 225 | 2:15am EDT | 19,280.78 | -388.34 | -1.97% |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | 3:08am EDT | 23,871.91 | -458.11 | -1.88% |
| .AORD | ASX All Ordinaries Index | 2:17am EDT | 5,278.60 | -136.10 | -2.51% |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | 2:32am EDT | 1,879.38 | -18.98 | -1.00% |
| .SETI | SET Composite Index | 1:29am EDT | 1,253.46 | -12.94 | -1.02% |
| .JKSE | Jakarta Composite | 3:23am EDT | 4,492.02 | -83.89 | -1.83% |
| .PSI | PSE Composite Index | 12:50am EDT | 5,592.25 | -141.40 | -2.47% |
| .SSEC | Shanghai Composite Index | 3:00am EDT | 2,827.01 | -25.54 | -0.90% |
| .BSESN | S&P BSE Sensex | 3:08am EDT | 30,537.70 | -1,110.30 | -3.51% |
| .FTFBMKLCI | FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI | 3:08am EDT | 1,390.41 | -22.71 | -1.61% |
| .HNX30 | HNX 30 Index | 19 Apr 2020 | 208.84 | -0.10 | -0.05% |
Have a healthy day, Keep the Faith!
