Asian Markets Mixed after Yesterday Gain

The Asian and Pacific Rim equity and financial markets are mostly mixed as regional traders wait on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to announce their monthly monetary policy and interest rate decision due later in the day.

Asian traders are also starting to worry more and more about the alarming spike in new Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases in the United States.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.47 percent and the broader Topix index, in Tokyo, was trading down over 0.41 percent.

Across the Korean Strait, the headline Kospi composite index is down a fraction of a percent and elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian S&P ASX 200 is up 0.2 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index has reversed early gains of 1.36 percent to trade around the flat line. On the mainland in China, the equity markets have reversed early gains to trade in the red by the late morning trade session.

On Monday, the Shanghai composite jumped almost six (6) percent after the state-owned China Securities Journal said that market participants should see the “wealth effect of the capital markets” and the strong possibility of an upcoming “healthy bull market.”

Asian Traders Watch the Sharp Spike of Covid-19 Cases in the US

Traders are worrying about the coronavirus again. There is a sharp rise in new cases across the United States. This is forcing various states to close businesses, once again, to stem the spread of the pandemic, which could derail the fragile economic recovery.

States like California and Florida are issuing new lockdown orders, within populous counties, that are seeing a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases. This includes closing pubs and restaurants.

The President of The United States, is once again under fire over how he is handling the deadly pandemic. Donald Trump, said that it is due to more testing that his country is seeing more coronavirus cases. He has also said that the is not very dangerous.