Traders on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the US. Picture: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were slightly lower after hitting a four-and-a-half-month high just on Tuesday. Following the recent rally, the declines looked like a consolidation, with the markets largely in wait-and-see mode ahead of the upcoming earnings session, said NAB economist Tapas Strickland.“It will be important to watch the number of US deaths in coming weeks and whether greater questions will be asked about the extent of necessary restrictions,” Strickland said.
Coronavirus cases were also on the rise in the Australian state of Victoria, which led to lockdown measures being reimposed in Melbourne, the country’s second-biggest city.