Asian markets surge as coronavirus fears fade

By Marketwatch

Bloomberg News

People line up to buy masks in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay district on Wednesday.

Asian markets rose in early trading Thursday on optimism that the coronavirus outbreak would be contained.

Markets got an unexpected boost later in the day as China announced it was cutting tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods in half.

On Wednesday, there were unconfirmed reports that researchers had made breakthroughs toward developing a vaccine, but the World Health Organization said there are still no known effective therapeutics against the coronavirus.

U.S. health officials said it is too soon to say when the outbreak may peak. “We’re preparing as if this is a pandemic,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Associated Press.

China reported Thursday that the number of confirmed cases had risen to more than 28,000, with 563 deaths.

Still, traders appeared confident that the economic impact of the outbreak would be contained and short-lived.

Japan’s Nikkei /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK -0.17%   surged 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI -1.25%   jumped 1.8%. The Shanghai Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.06%   rose 1% while the Shenzhen Composite /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +0.06%   gained 2.1%. South Korea’s Kospi /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -1.19%   advanced 2.2%, while benchmark indexes in Taiwan /zigman2/quotes/210597977/delayed TW:Y9999 +0.03%   and Singapore /zigman2/quotes/210597985/delayed SG:STI +0.56%   gained. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO -0.20%   rose 0.8%.

Among individual stocks, Yahoo Japan parent Z Holdings /zigman2/quotes/207641152/delayed JP:4689 -0.05%   leaped in Tokyo trading. SoftBank /zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed JP:9984 -1.66%  , Fast Retailing /zigman2/quotes/200663563/delayed JP:9983 -1.04%   and Sony /zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed JP:6758 -0.78%   gained as well. In Hong Kong, oil producers CNOOC /zigman2/quotes/203421416/delayed HK:883 -1.84%   and PetroChina /zigman2/quotes/204979431/delayed HK:857 -0.39%   rose, along with China Mobile /zigman2/quotes/200868736/delayed HK:941 -1.50%   and casino operator Galaxy Entertainment /zigman2/quotes/202884203/delayed HK:27 +1.24%  . LG Electronics /zigman2/quotes/209966407/delayed KR:066570 -0.29%   and SK Hynix /zigman2/quotes/206420319/delayed KR:000660 -0.97%   gained in South Korea, while Apple component maker Hon Hai Precision Industry /zigman2/quotes/207256514/delayed TW:2317 -0.99%   rose after cutting its 2020 revenue outlook due to the effects of strict quarantines of workers potentially exposed to the coronavirus. Mining giant BHP /zigman2/quotes/208108397/composite BHP +0.26%   and Westpac Banking /zigman2/quotes/203084975/delayed AU:WBC -0.47%   advanced in Australia.

“The markets are not only holding up, but they’re going up!!!” wrote Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp, in a note. “And to suggest risk appetite continues to ‘creep’ back in favor, might be the biggest understatement of the week.”

Innes said that despite the WHO’s cautionary take, “any progress on treatment may also be a comfort to investors that the longer-term secondary effects of the outbreak are contained.”

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Wednesday for the third consecutive session, with markets closing shortly before President Donald Trump was acquitted on both charges in his impeachment trial.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA +1.47%   rose 483.22 points, or 1.7%, to end at 29,290.85, while the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +0.38%   gained 37.10 points, or 1.1%, to close at 3,334.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598365/realtime COMP -0.23%   added 40.71 points, 0.4%, ending the session at 9,508.68. Those levels marked new closing highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Oil prices surged again Thursday, with the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery   rose $1.07, or 2.1%, to $51.90. April Brent crude  , the global benchmark, gained $0.91, or 1.6%, to $56.25.

The dollar /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY -0.3259%   rose to 109.94 Japanese yen from 109.48 yen on Wednesday.

/zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

33,431.51

-55.38 -0.17%

Volume: 0.00

Dec. 1, 2023 3:15p

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Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

16,830.30

-212.58 -1.25%

Volume: 2.43M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:09p

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Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,031.64

+1.96 +0.06%

Volume: 28.61B

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

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Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,031.64

+1.96 +0.06%

Volume: 28.61B

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

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KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,505.01

-30.28 -1.19%

Volume: 516,596

Dec. 1, 2023 6:05p

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Taiwan TAIEX

TW : Taiwan Stock Exchange

17,438.35

+4.50 +0.03%

Volume: 0.00

Dec. 1, 2023 1:31p

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FTSE Straits Times Index

SG : Singapore: SGX

3,090.31

+17.32 +0.56%

Volume: 0.00

Dec. 1, 2023 5:20p

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S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index

AU : S&P ASX

7,073.20

-14.10 -0.20%

Volume: 581,856

Dec. 1, 2023 5:15p

/zigman2/quotes/207641152/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:4689

LY Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 430.40

-0.20 -0.05%

Volume: 7.71M

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

13.93

Dividend Yield

1.29%

Market Cap

¥3269.49 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥61.98M

/zigman2/quotes/207303954/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9984

SoftBank Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 5,920.00

-100.00 -1.66%

Volume: 7.47M

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.74%

Market Cap

¥7316.26 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥104.44M

/zigman2/quotes/200663563/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:9983

Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 37,100.00

-390.00 -1.04%

Volume: 1.13M

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

38.47

Dividend Yield

0.89%

Market Cap

¥11751.96 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥48.05M

/zigman2/quotes/201361720/delayed

Add to watchlist JP:6758

Sony Group Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 12,720.00

-100.00 -0.78%

Volume: 2.14M

Dec. 1, 2023 3:00p

P/E Ratio

18.05

Dividend Yield

0.63%

Market Cap

¥15795.05 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥108.57M

/zigman2/quotes/203421416/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:883

CNOOC Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 12.82

-0.24 -1.84%

Volume: 100.27M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

4.00

Dividend Yield

10.45%

Market Cap

$635.75 billion

Rev. per Employee

$23.81M

/zigman2/quotes/204979431/delayed

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PetroChina Co. Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 5.11

-0.02 -0.39%

Volume: 58.12M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

5.65

Dividend Yield

9.23%

Market Cap

$1359.34 billion

Rev. per Employee

$8.54M

/zigman2/quotes/200868736/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:941

China Mobile Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 62.35

-0.95 -1.50%

Volume: 19.77M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

9.06

Dividend Yield

7.44%

Market Cap

$1367.90 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.44M

/zigman2/quotes/202884203/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:27

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.

HK : Hong Kong

$ 40.90

+0.50 +1.24%

Volume: 8.25M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:08p

P/E Ratio

597.08

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

$175.96 billion

Rev. per Employee

$824,187

/zigman2/quotes/209966407/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:066570

LG Electronics Inc.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 102,400

-300.00 -0.29%

Volume: 465,918

Dec. 1, 2023 6:14p

P/E Ratio

27.40

Dividend Yield

0.68%

Market Cap

₩17658.38 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/206420319/delayed

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SK Hynix Inc.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 132,600

-1,300 -0.97%

Volume: 3.64M

Dec. 1, 2023 6:13p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.90%

Market Cap

₩89665.73 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/207256514/delayed

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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.

TW : Taiwan

NT$ 100.50

-1.00 -0.99%

Volume: 26.79M

Dec. 1, 2023 1:30p

P/E Ratio

10.91

Dividend Yield

5.27%

Market Cap

NT$1413.87 billion

Rev. per Employee

NT$8.18M

/zigman2/quotes/208108397/composite

Add to watchlist BHP

BHP Group Ltd. ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 60.96

+0.16 +0.26%

Volume: 1.54M

Nov. 30, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

11.99

Dividend Yield

5.53%

Market Cap

$155.00 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/203084975/delayed

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Westpac Banking Corp.

AU : Australia: Sydney

$ 21.27

-0.10 -0.47%

Volume: 4.81M

Dec. 1, 2023 4:10p

P/E Ratio

11.17

Dividend Yield

6.68%

Market Cap

$74.12 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.31M

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Dow Jones Industrial Average

US : Dow Jones Global

35,950.89

+520.47 +1.47%

Volume: 0.00

Nov. 30, 2023 5:04p

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S&P 500 Index

US : S&P US

4,567.80

+17.22 +0.38%

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Nov. 30, 2023 5:04p

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NASDAQ Composite Index

US : Nasdaq

14,226.22

-32.27 -0.23%

Volume: 5.77B

Nov. 30, 2023 5:16p

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Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

147.7200

-0.4830 -0.3259%

Volume: 0.0000

Dec. 1, 2023 4:41a