On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index sank 2.2% after the U.S. government reported last month's retail sales plunged by a record 8.7% and factory output fell at the fastest rate for March since 1946. The retail figures hit especially hard because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
India's Sensex gained 0.5% to 30,527.24. New Zealand's main index added 1.1% while Singapore, Thailand and Jakarta retreated. Spending may be falling at an even faster pace than retail figures suggest. Those data don't include spending on services such as hotel stays, airline tickets or movie theatres, industries that have been largely shut down by anti-virus controls.
Traders say stocks will be volatile until investors can see more clearly when countries might be able to stop the outbreak.Global oil demand will fall this year by a record amount, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. President Donald Trump has been discussing how to roll back federal social distancing recommendations. U.S. governors are collaborating on plans to reopen their economies in what is likely to be a gradual process to prevent the coronavirus from rebounding.
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