· Dow set to drop more than 300 points following report of first US coronavirus case of unknown origin
U.S. stock futures on Wednesday night pointed to significant declines at Thursday’s open even after President Donald Trump tried to assuage concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
Futures slipped after the CDC confirmed the first U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin in Northern California, indicating possible “community spread” of the disease. The CDC doesn’t know exactly how the patient, a California resident, contracted the virus.
As of 10:08 p.m. ET, Dow futures fell 327 points and indicated a plunge of 348.59 points at Thursday’s open. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to opening declines on Thursday.
· Major Asia Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday as investors remained cautious over the fast-spreading new coronavirus that has infected more than 81,000 people and killed over 2,700.
Most of the people infected and killed by the disease to-date are from China. However, the number of cases outside the country has surged in recent weeks — especially in places like South Korea, Italy, and Iran. That’s led to global sell-off, including in the U.S. where the S&P 500 wiped out $1.7 trillion in just two sessions.
· Japanese stocks led losses among major markets in the region as the Nikkei 225 fell 2.13% to close at 21,948.23 while the Topix index ended its trading day 2.37% lower at 1,568.06. The Japanese yen, considered a safe-haven asset, traded at 110.13 versus the dollar, strengthening from levels above 111.00 earlier in the week.
In South Korea, the Kospi closed 1.05% lower at 2,054.89 as the Bank of Korea kept its policy rate unchanged. The central bank surprised markets by holding its benchmark interest rate at 1.25% when analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a cut. That was despite a recent spike in the number of infection cases in the country — jumping from around 31 to over 1,000 in a little more than a week.
· Chinese shares rose slightly on Thursday as the country reported fewer deaths due to the coronavirus and signalled more support to underpin the domestic economy, although increasing worries over the global contagion of the virus kept gains in check.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index ended 0.1 per cent higher at 2,991.33 points and the blue-chip CSI300 index finished up 0.3 per cent at 4,084.88 points.
· European stocks plummeted further at the open Thursday as the rapid spread of coronavirus continues to dominate market sentiment.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.7% in early trade, basic resources and travel and leisure stocks plunging 2.5% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses dropped sharply into the red.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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