HSI Gains, Asian Markets Mixed As Oil Slides Again

Hong Kong stocks ended Wednesday on a positive note, but investors continue to be wracked by uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreak and the rout in oil markets.

The Hang Seng Index added 0.4 percent, to 23,893.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 percent, to 2,843 while the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.1 percent, to 1,771.

Tokyo ended down 0.7 percent while Singapore and Bangkok each shed 0.9 percent and Wellington retreated more than 1 percent. Manila also fell and Sydney was marginally lower.

However Mumbai, Seoul and Taipei were all up along with Jakarta.

There was little market reaction to the US Senate approving a near-half-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief package, with funding earmarked for small businesses, hospitals, and a ramp-up of testing nationwide.

Adding to the sense of unease on trading floors is uncertainty around earnings season, with many firms struggling to provide forecasts as they try to assess developments in the pandemic, which has shattered their bottom lines.

"There's no way you can predict earnings right now," Michael Cuggino, at Pacific Heights Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV. 

"It's virtually impossible until we have more visibility with respect to how the world comes out of the coronavirus on the other side."

Oil resumed its painful retreat and extended a rout that has torn through energy markets.

Focus has turned to the June contract, which started on Wednesday on fine form following news that top producers had held talks – but it plunged into the red in the afternoon, having lost almost half its value on Tuesday, when Brent collapsed by a fifth.

WTI surged 20 percent before changing course to sit more than four percent down later, while Brent was off more than 11 percent after earlier dropping 18 percent to US$15.98 – its lowest since 1999. (AFP)