On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.13% to close at 19,353.24 as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing jumped 7.7%. Moreover, the Topix index rose 1.59% to end its trading day at 1,425.47. Stock markets in the Asia Pacific were mixed on Wednesday.
However, mainland Chinese stocks fell on April 8. The Shanghai Composite dropped 0.19% to about 2,815.36. At the same time, the Shenzhen composite fell 0.156% to around 1,740.65.
Moreover, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index decreased by 1.29% as of its final hour of trading.
South Korea’s Kospi index also declined on April 8. Its index dropped 0.9% to 1,087.14.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 decreased 0.86% to 5,206.90.
Stock markets and preventive measures
The coronavirus pandemic caused many problems for the markets not only in the Asia Pacific but in other parts of the world as well.
The governments are trying to contain this virus and to achieve this goal implemented stricter social distancing measures.
For example, Hong Kong extended its ban on public gatherings of more than four people. Moreover, some bars will remain closed until April 23.
On April 7, the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency to tackle coronavirus infections in major population centers. Another Asian country also passed a set of laws to ban social gatherings of any size in both private and public areas. This country is Singapore.
Hopefully, good news for the markets came from Wuhan, China. This city was the virus epicenter in the country. China decided to remove travel restrictions. As a result, the local population has the opportunity to leave the city for the first time since January.
Let’s have a look at the U.S. stocks. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 26.13 points lower or 0.1 at 22,653.86. Moreover, the S&P 500 ended its trading day 0.2% lower at 2,659.41. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% to 7,887.26.
COMMENTS