A woman wearing a face mask walks past a stocks display board outside Exchange Square in Hong Kong on July 16, 2020, as the city experiences another spike in COVID-19 coronavirus cases. Anthony WALLACE / AFPMost equities fell Monday as a spike in new coronavirus infections across the planet forced governments to impose fresh containment measures, fuelling fears about the stuttering economic recovery.
The spikes — Hong Kong saw a record rise Sunday, while Florida’s has been described as “out of control” — have led leaders to unveil new measures to curb the disease’s spread, including closing bars and restaurants and making masks compulsory. “Shares are still vulnerable to a further correction or consolidation, with renewed lockdowns and the US presidential election being the main risks.”
“Depending on how ugly or not the bipartisanship becomes, this story has the potential to move markets later in the week,” said Jeffrey Halley at OANDA. But Hong Kong dropped 0.1 percent, and Sydney, Singapore and Jakarta slipped 0.5 percent. Wellington gave back 0.3 percent, while Taipei, Bangkok and Seoul were also in the red.
European leaders remain unable to break a deadlock on their planned stimulus programme, with a fraught summit going into a fourth day.