Hong Kong: Despite massive global economic stimulus, most Asian stock markets lost money in early trading on Monday and investors were shocked by the tireless efforts of the coronavirus pandemic.
This negative sentiment has been compounded by the failure of US legislators to reach a multi-trillion dollar emergency aid package to help the weak US economy.
The death toll of the virus has risen to more than 14,300 people worldwide, nearly a billion have closed and closed non-essential businesses in dozens of countries, and fears of a recession are mounting.
Wellington fell 9.3% when New Zealand announced a four-week blockade to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 3.7%, Sydney 6%, Shanghai 2.5% and Taiwan 2.8%.
Singapore decreased by 7.5%, Jakarta by 4% and Seoul by 3.4%.
However, Tokyo rose 0.5% against the yen as the yen weakened against the US dollar, pushing the market.
Economists and analysts are now worried about the extent to which the pandemic may affect the global economy, and social isolation and blockades have hit many industries hard.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase have all forecast US GDP drops, according to Bloomberg News.
“These rapid and unprecedented downgrades illustrate just how fast we’ve moved from a brief health scare to a full-blown global recession,” said Stephen Innes, global chief markets strategist at AxiCorp.
Constance Hunter, chief economist at KPMG, agreed, telling Bloomberg Television, “This is a health crisis that is starting to develop into a financial crisis.”
