Stocks in Asia and U.S. Increased Despite Coronavirus

On Wednesday, stocks in Asia strengthened their positions despite coronavirus. For example, the Shenzhen component rose 1.6% to close at 10,940.80.

It is worth mentioning that mainland Chinese stocks reached the best results in the region. The Shenzhen composite added 1.554% to end its trading day at about 1,785.33. At the same time, the Shanghai composite gained 0.87% to close around 2,926.90.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.1% as of its final hour of trading.

Japan has the second-largest economy in Asia after China. The Nikkei 225 added 0.74% to close at 23,861.21. Shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group jumped 11.89%.

On Tuesday, a judge approved a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. Softbank is a major shareholder of Sprint.

Another Japanese stock index Topix experienced problems on Wednesday. Its index declined slightly to 1,718.92.

Hopefully, South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.69% to close at 2,238.38.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 finished its trading day 0.74% higher at 7,088.20. The major factor that helped the index is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Its shares jumped 4.08% thanks to its half-year results.

Stocks in the U.S.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks also had a positive day. The S&P 500 closed 0.2% higher at 3,357.75. At the same time, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.1% to end its trading day at 9,638.94.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased as much as 138 pints. However, at the end of the trading day, it was flat.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the central bank is monitoring the situation. Ongoing coronavirus crisis created questions regarding its impact on the global economy.

There are only several confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. Consequently, the impact on the U.S. economy is minimal. However, this virus disrupted the supply chain and this factor will affect the U.S. companies.