Hong Kong Shares Drop, Asian Markets Depressed

Hong Kong equities finished lower on Wednesday despite an overnight rebound on Wall Street prompted by encouraging signs of a decline in US coronavirus infection rates. 

The Hang Seng index dropped 1.2 percent, to end at 24,145.

Across the border, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6 percent, to 2,811 while the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent, to 1,736.

Other Asian equities were also lower. Tokyo slid 0.5 percent after a sharp rise in the last session, with a stronger yen weighing on investor sentiment.

Sydney ended 0.4 percent lower and Singapore fell 0.3 percent, but Seoul shot up 1.7 percent as South Korea voted in national parliamentary elections.

Oil futures continued their fall in Asian trade despite the weekend deal by producer nations to cut output by nearly 10 million barrels per day from May.

Prices had been battered after the coronavirus outbreak sent demand off a cliff, with a Saudi-Russian price war compounding the crisis.

Both major international benchmarks saw a brief rally at the start of the week, but have since fallen below the prices seen before the production cut was thrashed out. (AFP)