How Coronavirus Pandemic Affected Stocks in Asia-Pacific

It was a tough day, as most stocks across Asia-Pacific fell on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic affected the sentiment. Let’s have a look at stocks to learn more about the situation.

It is worth noting that, mainland Chinese stocks were mixed by the close. The Shanghai Composite added 0.13% to 3’336.36. At the same time, the Shenzhen Component dropped 0.68% to 13’532.73.

However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.04% by the afternoon. Nevertheless, markets were mostly down in other regional markets.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell by 0.41% to end its trading day at 23’410.63. Moreover, the Topix index declined by 0.86% to 1’617.69.

Also, the Kospi index dropped 0.83% to 2’341.53.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.54% to 6’176.80.

U.S. stocks on Thursday

It is worth mentioning that, the U.S. stocks fell on Thursday. However, before discussing U.S. stocks let’s have a look at other interesting news as well.

For example, shares of telecom company Aussie Broadband had their debut on the ASX and rose as much as 2.22 Australian dollars per share, doubling on the issue price of 1 Australian dollar per share. Importantly, shares closed at 1.91 Australian dollars.

Interestingly, Rio Tinto which is the world’s largest iron ore miner posted a 5% drop in third-quarter shipments. Moreover, Rio Tinto warned that the rate of recovery could slow further in most economies.

According to its third-quarter operations review that was released on Friday, the rate of recovery is slowing in most economies. The demand for pentup is declining and the rise of renewed lockdowns represents a challenge when it comes to recovery. Notably, its ASX-listed stock dropped 0.85% by the close.

People should take into account that, chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a 35.9% surge in quarterly net profit. The demand for products that require high-end chips helped to boost the profit.

Let’s get back to U.S. stocks. As a reminder, stocks fell for the third day in a row on Thursday. It makes as hope for the U.S. coronavirus stimulus deal fades, and both sides should work harder to reach an agreement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19.8 points or 0.07% to 28’494.20. Moreover, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to 3’483.34. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back to 11’713.87.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect markets. Moreover, Europe reported its highest weekly numbers of new cases. It is hard to determine how long it would take to deal with the second wave of coronavirus infections. As a result, it is not surprising that, stocks in Asia-Pacific fell on Friday.