Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Equities in the Asian and Pacific Rim were mostly mixed by the late morning, Hong Kong time, during the Wednesday trade session.
Asian and regional traders continue to monitor any news surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic which, while still a major source of trepidation, is showing some small signs of stabilizing.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 pared early losses to gain 0.16 percent. The broader Topix index, in Tokyo, was up 0.37 percent.
In South Korea, shares were down 0.2 percent and the Kosdaq index gained 0.28 percent. Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian ASX 200 was down 0.6 percent.
On the mainland in China, the Shanghai composite was down half a percent and the smaller Shenzhen composite fell 0.29 percent.
Shares in Hong Kong fell lower. The Hang Seng index was down 0.89 percent.
Asian Traders Monitor Covid-19 Headlines as China eases some Restrictions
In China, the government has removed travel restrictions on the city that was ground zero for the pandemic. Wuhan is open after being closed for 76 days. City officials are still worried that a second wave of infections could flare up if they are not careful.
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen over 1.3 million people around the world infected and killed over 76,000. The numbers are still rising but at a slightly lower rate in some areas. Highly populated areas like Tokyo, India and New York City are still reporting increases.
In New York, doctors and nurses are facing an onslaught of new cases of the Covid-19 contagion but, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the infection rate appears to be leveling off.
Japan Declares State of Emergency and announces additional Stimulus
On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections. This state of emergency is for the capital of Tokyo and other heavily populated prefectures.
The Japanese government also announce additional fiscal stimulus measures totaling $1 trillion dollars to ease the economic damage being done.
