TOKYO/HONG KONG- Asian shares held their ground on Tuesday in a volatile session following one of Wall Street’s biggest one-day routs in history as headlines about the coronavirus outbreak and its global economic impact whiplashed investor sentiment.
Financial markets cratered on Monday with the S&P 500 tumbling 12%, its biggest drop since “Black Monday” three decades ago, as a series of emergency central bank rate cuts globally only added to the recent sense of investor panic.
Australian shares closed 5.9% higher, to record the biggest daily percentage gain since Oct 2008, following a nearly 10% plunge on Monday. But few investors are feeling confident and uncertainty prevails.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, as was Japan’s Nikkei stock index which traded either side of even through a bumpy day. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 2.4%.
Futures trade pointed to a positive open in U.S. and European markets. The S&P 500 e-minis, were up 3.8% at their upper limit of 2,508.5.
In Europe, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 1.8% at 2,463, German DAX futures were up 1.7% at 8,873.5 and FTSE futures were up 2.2% at 5,232.5.
“The move in U.S. stock futures prompted some buying of battered down shares and lifted dollar/yen,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
“The focus is shifting to the fiscal response to the virus. We’re locked in a pattern where markets bounce and then resume falling.”
Some $2.69 trillion in market value was wiped from the S&P 500 on Monday as it suffered its third-largest daily percentage decline on record. Over the past 18 days, the benchmark index has lost $8.28 trillion.
Gold, which is normally bought as a safe-haven, extended declines on Tuesday as some investors chose to sell whatever they could to keep their money in cash.
Oil futures rebounded in Asia, but downside risks remain due to an expected slump in global energy demand and Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase crude output to expand its market share.
The U.S. Federal Reserve stunned investors with another emergency rate cut on Sunday, prompting other central banks to ease policy in the biggest coordinated response since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.
Investors, however, are worried that central banks may have spent all their ammunition and that more draconian restrictions on personal movement are necessary to contain the global coronavirus outbreak.
Group of Seven finance ministers are expected to hold a call on Tuesday night — though markets are wanting to see public health progress as well as huge fiscal stimulus.
“I think the priorities of the governments around the world will probably move away from economic growth towards containing the virus,” said Jim McCafferty, Nomura’s joint head of APAC equity research.
“Safety of national citizens might become a bigger priority. But with that they want to keep the economies in a working situation.”
Traders are also looking to data due later on Tuesday, which is forecast to show German investor sentiment tumbled in March.
The United States will release retail sales and industrial production for February, which is unlikely to reflect the impact of the coronavirus.
Some investors say markets will not settle unless the U.S. government announces a big fiscal spending package to match the Fed’s bold actions to slash rates and keep credit markets functioning.
Others say liquidity in some financial markets is starting to fall because there’s such a high degree of uncertainty, meaning even some traditional safe-havens may not be that safe.
Spot gold fell 0.93% to $1,497.60 per ounce.
In the currency market, the dollar rose 0.5% to 106.40 yen, recovering slightly from a 2% decline from the previous session as the Fed’s rate rippled through financial markets.
U.S. crude ticked up 4.25% to $29.92 a barrel. Brent crude also rose 2.40% to $30.77 per barrel, but these gains are likely to be temporary.
Saudi Aramco reiterated on Monday plans to boost output to record levels. Top global oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia started a price war after failing to agree on a plan to curb supply.
The coming flood of supply from Saudi Arabia and other producers could result in the largest surplus of crude in history, said global information provider HIS Markit.
(Content and photos syndicated via Reuters)
