Stocks Fell Due to Recent Spikes in Coronavirus Cases

The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the stocks around the world. Stocks in Asia fell on June 15, as investors analyzed the situation regarding the potential impact of recent spikes in coronavirus cases.

For example, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 3.47% to close at 21,530.95. At the same time, the Topix index dropped 2.54% to end its trading day at 1,530.78.

Moreover, South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 4.76% to close at 2,030.82.

Unfortunately, mainland Chinese stocks also fell on Monday. The Shanghai Composite dropped 1.02% to around 2,890.03. In the meantime, the Shenzhen Component fell 0.528% to about 11,192.27.

Interestingly, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 2.17% to end its trading day at 23,776.95.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.19% to close at 5,179.80.

Stocks and coronavirus pandemic

As stated above, the coronavirus pandemic is a major challenge for the stocks. Importantly, authorities in China declared a wartime emergency. Authorities decided to isolate one district in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

Moreover, the capital banned tourism on Saturday after a cluster of coronavirus infections centered around a wholesale market sparked fears of a new wave of coronavirus. It is worth mentioning that, 45 people out of 517 tested at the Fengtai district’s wholesale market tested positive for coronavirus.
Authorities made the decision to suspend sports events and inter-provincial tourism.

Notably, Chinese economic data for May missed expectations. For example, industrial production in China for that month increased by 4.4% year-on-year. However, analysts expected that industrial production would grow by 5%. Moreover, retail sales fell 2.8% year-on-year in May.

The coronavirus pandemic remains one of the main topics of discussion among investors, analysts, and authorities. In the U.S. Texas and North Carolina reported a record-number of virus-related hospitalizations on Saturday. The main challenge is how to reopen the economy and at the same time how to minimize the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.