A man wearing a protective mask during the Covid-19 pandemic walks past an electronic board displaying graphs of the Nikkei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: REUTERS/KIM KYUNG-HOONAsian stocks were in the red on Tuesday as surging Covid-19 cases in China hit the confidence of investors who are already worried about the Ukraine war and the first US interest rate rise in three years that could come this week.
Those losses extended into the Asian session, however, the investor focus had shifted to the demand side, with China’s new wave of Covid-19 infections casting a cloud over the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy. “The question we are asking is whether the markets have reached peak bearishness,” said Jack Siu, Credit Suisse’s chief investment officer for Greater China.
The city’s tech index has been hammered, falling nearly 30% so far in March as investors worry about the next regulatory crackdown from US and Chinese authorities on the sector. Adding to the overall negative sentiment for markets are rising case numbers of Covid-19 in China, which investors fear will hurt the mainland's economic growth in the first quarter.During the Asian session, US crude slipped a further 5.2% to $97.66 a barrel. Brent crude was down 5.16% to $101.37 a barrel.