Asian shares slip after Wall St's worst day in a month
Shares skidded in Asia on Tuesday after surging coronavirus cases and waning hopes for U.S. economic stimulus gave Wall Street its worst day in a month.
Stock benchmarks fell in Hong Kong, Sydney and Seoul. Tokyo was flat. Shanghai recovered from early losses to edge higher.
Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 1.9%, deepening its losses from last week. Stocks of companies worst hit by the pandemic logged some of the biggest losses. Cruise lines, airlines and energy stocks tumbled in tandem with crude oil prices.
In another sign of caution, Treasury yields pulled back after touching their highest level since June last week and were steady at 0.80% on Tuesday.
The gloom carried into trading in Asia, where Japan's Nikkei 225 was almost unchanged at 23,485.80. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.4% to 24,719.38. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.6% to 2,330.01, while the S&P/ASX 200 slumped 1.7% to 6,051.00. The Shanghai Composite index recovered from early losses, edging 0.2% higher to 3,258.12.
South Korea reported better than expected 1.9% quarter-on-quarter economic growth in the last quarter, following a 3.2% quarterly decline in April-June. On an annual basis, the economy contracted 1.3%, compared with expectations for a 1.8% decline according to FactSet. Strong exports led the rebound, economists said.
But unease over possible disruptions due to a resurgence of COVID-19 outbreaks has added to uncertainties, with the U.S. presidential vote just one week away.
Doubts are mounting that Washington will come through with more stimulus for the economy before the Nov. 3 Election Day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to reach an agreement in a phone call Monday, according to a Pelosi aide. The two have been discussing a potential deal to send cash to most Americans, restart...
