Chinese Stocks and Ongoing Virus Outbreak

For the last couple of days, the coronavirus outbreak caused serious problems as the death toll surpassed 1,000. Moreover, this virus already disrupted supply chains for companies around the world. Chinese stocks declined due to the ongoing situation.

The Shanghai Composite fell 0.71% to about 2,906.07. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen component dropped 0.7% to 10,864.32. The Shenzhen composite fell 0.769% to around 1,771.61.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined by 0.29% as of its final hour of trading.

South Korea’s Kospi index declined by 0.24% to finish its trading day at 2,232.96. Shares of automaker Hyundai Motor fell 2.21%.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.14% to close at 23,827.73. At the same time, the Topix index finished its trading day 0.34% lower at 1,713.08. Shares of SoftBank Group by 5.09%.

Stocks in Australia defied other markets in the Asia Pacific region. The S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.21% to 7,103.20.

The influence of coronavirus on the stocks

As mentioned above, stocks experienced problems as this virus altered the plans of many investors and companies. Moreover, it is unclear when the officials will find a solution to this problem. Currently, there is no vaccine and it may take a year to create one.

In the modern world, economies are integrated and economic problems in China would affect the rest of the world.

Investors are closely monitoring the situation. This virus created pressure on stocks.

On February 12, China confirmed 15,152 new cases and 254 additional cases. The Hubei province is struggling to deal with the outbreak. According to Chinese officials, they started to include “clinically diagnosed” cases in their tally.

It is worth mentioning that Chinese officials changed the methodology for diagnosing coronavirus only for Hubei province.

According to the World Health Organization, coronavirus is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This fact shows the importance of this virus. It will take time to stabilize the situation.