TOKYO - Asian shares fell on Wednesday as a spike in new Chinese virus cases sent Hong Kong stocks tumbling and added to worries about the economic impact of the outbreak.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.62%, and Australia’s main index added 0.53%, partly because investors in these markets had already had a chance to react to the outbreak, which has claimed more than 100 lives. “The next three to five days will be maximum selling pressure, because essentially markets had a benign view of the virus before the Lunar New Year,” said Sean Darby, global equity strategist at Jefferies in Hong Kong.The S&P 500 rose 1.01% on Tuesday, rebounding from its worst daily decline in four months on Monday, as shares of Apple Inc rose ahead of its fourth-quarter results.
The yield curve briefly inverted on Tuesday when 10-year yields fell below their 3-month counterparts for the first time since October. An inverted yield curve has historically been an indicator of looming recession.
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