London — World stocks took a hit on Friday as China moved to impose a new security law on Hong Kong after last year’s pro-democracy unrest, further straining fast-deteriorating US-China ties.
That followed a sharp sell-off in Asia after China said it would impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong — sparking a warning from US President Donald Trump that Washington would react “very strongly” against an attempt to gain more control over the former British colony. “Overall, it’s fascinating to see that markets are shaking off the very bad news on the future US-China relationship much more now in the face of a global pandemic than it did last year when the tensions were fraught,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid.
On Friday, Japan’s central bank unveiled a lending programme to channel nearly $280bn to small businesses hit by the coronavirus. India slashed interest rates for a second time this year.