TOKYO, March 11 — Asian shares and Wall Street futures fell today, as growing scepticism about Washington’s stimulus package to fight the coronavirus outbreak knocked the steam out of an earlier rally.
Markets had been recovering from a brutal global selloff on Monday that was triggered by the double shock of an oil price crash and the worsening outbreak.
Those gains faded away in Asia, with US stock futures falling 3 per cent and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 1.3 per cent. Australian shares were down 3.6 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index slid 2.27 per cent.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.17 per cent, but German DAX futures were down 0.2 per cent, and FTSE futures fell 0.56 per cent.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said he would take “major steps” to ease economic strains caused by the spread of the flu-like virus. Headlines focused on discussions of payroll tax cut, which helped lift market sentiment.
However, the lack of major announcements since then has left some investors unimpressed.
“We were promised something substantive from the Trump administration, and if it hasn’t come yet at this hour, then it looks like it is being delayed,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.
“That’s why markets have a negative tone. From a global investor’s perspective, there are still a lot of downside risks.”
On Wall Street, all three major indexes jumped nearly 5 per cent yesterday, one day after US equities markets suffered their biggest one-day losses since the 2008 financial crisis.
The dollar resumed its decline against the yen, the Swiss franc and the euro as uncertainty set in.
Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields fell to 0.6644 per cent. That was well above Monday’s record low yield of 0.3180 per cent, but analysts say yields could fall further because there are still strong expectations that the US Federal Reserve and other central banks will support fiscal stimulus with monetary easing.
Market participants largely expect the Fed to cut interest rates for the second time this month at the conclusion of next week’s regularly scheduled policy meeting after surprising investors last week with 50 basis point rate cut.
The euro is also in focus before a European Central Bank meeting tomorrow, where policymakers will face pressure to ease policy after Italy put its entire country on lockdown in an attempt to slow new coronavirus infections.
US crude rose 1.37 per cent to US$34.38 (RM145.54) per barrel, while Brent crude rose 1.96 per cent to US$37.95 in a topsy-turvy session. Futures initially jumped on signs that US producers will cut output but then pared gains as the trading day progressed.
On Monday, the oil market collapsed and futures saw their largest percentage drop since the 1991 Gulf War as a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia broke out.
Many analysts say investors need to remain on guard for further market volatility because the coronavirus still poses a risk to public health in many countries, which could place additional strains on the global economy.
Spot gold, which is often bought as a safe-haven during times of uncertainty, rose 0.71 per cent in Asia to US$1,639.78 per ounce.
The virus emerged late last year in the central Chinese province of Hubei but has since spread rapidly outside of China, leading to more than 4,000 deaths.
Shares in China fell 0.89 per cent today. China reported an uptick in new confirmed cases of coronavirus, reversing four straight days of declines.
Restrictions on movement and factory closures aimed at stopping the epidemic are putting the brakes on global economic activity. — Reuters