Fresh virus fears weigh on markets

Local and most regional shares sank on Wednesday, as a resurgence of coronavirus cases in some countries shook investor confidence.

The Hang Seng Index opened sharply lower, down more than 400 points and remained under pressure throughout the day. It fell as many as 628 points, before paring some of the losses to close at 28,621, down 513 points or 1.8 percent, on turnover of HK$154.4 billion.

The biggest loser on the blue-chip index, Anta Sports, plunged 7.6 percent, after the mainland sportswear firm’s controlling stakeholder dumped 88 million of its shares.

Tech shares were heavily sold as well. Tencent skidded 2.2 percent. Meituan gave up 3.9 percent. Alibaba was down 2.8 percent, and Xiaomi dipped 1.3 percent.

Oil companies slipped, as prices of the commodity fell for a second straight day on concerns over the coronavirus situation in the world’s third-biggest oil importer, India. Sinopec slumped 5.9 percent. PetroChina lost 2.5 percent. Cnooc shed 1.6 percent.

Cathay Pacific retreated more than two percent, after reports said the local flag carrier could sack more staff in June.

But markets across the border were unscathed thanks to upbeat quarterly earnings by healthcare and banking companies. The Shanghai Composite index was flat. The blue-chip CSI-300 index put on 0.3 percent, and the Shenzhen Composite added 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere in Japan, the Nikkei slid two percent, as the country’s government considered a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka to contain a surge in Covid cases.

South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.5 percent. Australia trimmed 0.3 percent. Taiwan declined 0.7 percent. Singapore was off 1.2 percent.