New Coronavirus Cases in Europe, U.S., and Stocks

The coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate the headlines for more than half a year and it is hard to determine, how long it would take to cope with this challenge. In this situation, it is not surprising that investors in different parts of the world are monitoring the situation. Let’s have a look at the stocks across the Asia-Pacific and how pandemic affected stocks.

It is worth mentioning that, stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday. Unfortunately, the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. as well as in Europe caused problems for stocks.

Interestingly, the situation regarding mainland Chinese stocks was quite interesting. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.82% to about 3’251.12. At the same time, the Shenzhen Component gained 0’478% to around 13’191.25.

Let’s have a look at the Japanese stocks. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slightly declined to close at 23’494.34. In the meantime, the Topix index fell 0.39% to end its trading day at 1’618.98.

Stocks and important events

 In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.72% to close at 2’343.91. It is worth noting that, shares of firms affiliated to conglomerate Samsung Group were mixed, following the death of the chairman of Samsung Electronics.

Lee Kun-hee was the person who built Samsung Electronics into a global powerhouse smartphones, etc. He made the Samsung Group the country’s biggest conglomerate. Moreover, he was the richest person in the country. However, he was also convicted of bribery as well as tax evasion. Lee Kun-hee transformed Samsung Electronics into a formidable force. 

 For example, Samsung Group affiliates’ 326.7 trillion won ( $289.6 billion) in 2019 revenue was worth about 17% of the country’s gross domestic product. This fact once more underlines the importance of Samsung Group to the local as well as the global economy.

Let’s have a look at the shares of affiliated companies. Interestingly, shares of Samsung C&T surged more than 19%. Also, shares of Samsung Insurance jumped 6.34% and Samsung Electronics added 0.5%. However, shares of Samsung HDI fell 1.3%, and Samsung Heavy Industries declined 0.77%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.18% to 6’155.60. Interestingly, Hong Kong’s market was closed on Monday for a holiday. 

As mentioned earlier, the coronavirus pandemic is far from being over. Investors are constantly monitoring the situation to learn more about the situation. It was not an easy day for stocks in Asia-Pacific. Moreover, new coronavirus cases have the potential to affect stocks.