The global economy is struggling to deal with multiple challenges. The coronavirus pandemic affected all industries and the oil industry is not an exception. Asian stocks were little changed on Friday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was largely flat at 17,820.19. At the same time, the Topix index ended its trading day 0.36% lower at 1,325.13.
South Korea’s Kospi index closed just above the flatline at 1,725.44.
On April 3, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.68% lower at 5,067.50.
Mainland Chinese stocks fell on Friday. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to about 2,763.99. Meanwhile, Shenzhen composite fell 0.47% to around 1,689.57.
The oil industry, stocks, and oil-producing countries
The oil industry provides a significant source of income for many countries including Saudi Arabia, the Russian Federation, etc. The shares of oil companies were also mixed on Friday. Australia’s Santos gained 0.5% and Japan’s Inpex rose 2.63%.
Nevertheless, shares of PetroChina listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell 5.56%.
The current situation is far from being ideal not only to the oil companies but the global economy in general. Unfortunately, millions of people across the world lost their jobs. Moreover, over the past two weeks, ten million Americans applied for unemployment benefits.
It is not a secret that various factors may affect the stocks. Several days ago, on Thursday, the price of U.S. crude futures rose by more than 24%. Interestingly, the price surge came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he spoke to Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Moreover, U.S. President stated that he expects Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation to announce an oil production cut of 10 million to 15 million barrels.
Coronavirus pandemic is far from being over. Furthermore, it is hard to say for how long this virus would continue to affect the stocks. Governments across the globe are ready to do whatever they can to save the local economy.
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