· Asia stocks at four-month top as markets stay stubbornly optimistic
Asian shares cleared a four-month high on Wednesday as investors remained stubbornly upbeat on the outlook for a re-opening of the global economy even as cases of the coronavirus looked to be accelerating to new peaks.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5% to reach its highest since pandemic lockdowns first cratered markets in early March.
News on the coronavirus was hardly encouraging with several U.S. states seeing record infections and the death toll in Latin America passing 100,000 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally.
The European Union is even prepared to bar U.S. travellers because of the surge of cases in the country, putting it in the same category as Brazil and Russia, the New York Times reported.
· Japanese shares fall as domestic COVID-19 cases at 1-1/2-month high
Japanese shares ended weaker on Wednesday as investor sentiment turned negative in response to Tokyo’s highest daily COVID-19 cases in more than a month.
The benchmark Nikkei average closed 0.07% lower at 22,534.32, with 59 advancers against 163 decliners.
Earlier in the session, Tokyo markets tracked overnight gains in Wall Street as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery.
The pace of contraction in the U.S. manufacturing and services sectors eased in June with reopening of businesses. While new home sales jumped 16.6% in May, blowing past estimates of a 2.9% rise.
However, an increase in Tokyo’s coronavirus infections on Wednesday lifted the risk-averse sentiment.
The broader Topix fell 0.42% to 1,580.50, with all but five of Tokyo’s 33 subindexes trading in the red.
· China stocks post weekly gains on upbeat data, Beijing's reforms
China stocks ended higher on Wednesday to close the shortened three-session week on a firmer note, as investors cheered improving data from key economies and Beijing’s latest reforms in its capital markets.
China’s stock market will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Dragon Boat Festival.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3% at 2,979.55, while the blue-chip CSI300 index added 0.42%.
· European markets lower as surge in coronavirus cases spooks investors
European stocks opened lower Wednesday as a surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and beyond, and regional outbreaks in Germany, spooked investors.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.4% after the opening bell, with all major bourses in negative territory. Health care stocks, which were almost 1% lower, led losses in the region, while the banking sector, up0.2%, led gains.
Investor sentiment has been shaken by an uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases all over the world as economies emerge from lockdown. White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Tuesday that parts of the U.S. are beginning to see a “disturbing surge” of Covid-19 cases.
Fauci did also say, however, that states with growing coronavirus outbreaks may not need to do an “absolute shutdown.” More than 2 million people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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