Asian Stocks Mixed after China’s Coronavirus Triggered Sell-Off

All you need to know about what’s moving global markets today.

Asian stocks began Wednesday mixed as investors mull reports that China’s coronavirus had migrated to the U.S. mainland.

Treasuries and the yen steadied after gaining Tuesday on news of the contagion, which also hit luxury stocks on concern about disruption to spending during China’s weeklong Lunar New Year holiday. Early trading Wednesday suggested an easing in the risk-off moves. Stocks in Japan and South Korea were little changed, along with U.S. equity futures, while Australian shares edged up. Futures in Hong Kong pointed higher after a sharp slide in stocks there yesterday. The yuan is flat in offshore trading after tumbling Tuesday.

U.S. and European shares saw modest losses Tuesday after Asian markets bore the brunt of worries over the virus. The S&P 500 Index fell from a record high. The emergence of the illness in China -- and concerns it will now spread outside the country -- stirred memories of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago for some market watchers, though it isn’t yet deemed as serious.

“I would expect a lot of people -- candidly, like we are -- that are looking for opportunities to buy rather than sell" amid the dip in stocks caused by virus-contagion worries, Lamar Villere, partner and portfolio manager at Villere & Co., said on Bloomberg TV. “I don’t think this is going to be the beginning of the end."

Elsewhere, Germany’s DAX Index briefly surpassed the peak reached two years ago. West Texas crude held around $58 a barrel as ample global supplies offset the loss of exports from Libya. South Korea’s won was flat as traders analyzed growth data that topped estimates.

Here are some events to watch out for this week:

• Companies including Procter & Gamble and Hyundai will post results.

• Policy decisions are due from central banks in Canada, Indonesia and the euro zone.

• The World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of global leaders in politics, business and culture, is underway in Davos, Switzerland.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index were flat as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The underlying gauge fell 0.3% on Tuesday.

• Japan’s Topix index slid 0.1%.

• Hang Seng futures earlier rose 0.3%.

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.3%.

• South Korea’s Kospi index dipped 0.2%.

Currencies

• The yen was at 109.89 per dollar after dropping 0.3%.

• The offshore yuan was at 6.9085 per dollar.

• The euro bought $1.1084.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries added one basis point to 1.78%.

• Australia’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.14%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.30 a barrel, down 0.1%.

• Gold was steady at $1,556.82 an ounce. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Scrabbl staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)