Hong Kong, Tokyo stocks fall along with most of Asia’s markets as investors weigh destruction of coronavirus pandemic
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slides after two sessions of back-to-back gains
- Singapore’s GDP for first quarter tumbles more than expected – an ominous sign for Asia
Hong Kong and most other Asia-Pacific stock markets fell Thursday, as jittery investors took profits after two days of run-ups and worries grew about the economic and human toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
Singapore’s gross domestic product for the first quarter fell far more than expected. It was the first Asian economy to publish GDP data, and shows what others can expect as the outbreak of coronavirus hits economic activity.
Meanwhile, Japan’s planned stimulus package could lead to a currency free fall eventually, its policymakers fear.
Meanwhile, with about one-third of the world’s population under lockdown, the US Senate passed the US$2 trillion stimulus bill, sending it to the US House for approval. President Donald Trump has said he will sign it “immediately.
The package – far bigger than the US$800 billion thrown at the financial crisis in 2009 – aims to provide a lifeline to keep American workers and businesses afloat during the health catastrophe. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it a “wartime level of investment into our nation.”
