HSI Tumbles As Asia Retreats On Virus Impact Fears

Hong Kong shares tumbled on Thursday with the rest of Asia's markets after the head of the Federal Reserve warned about the economic impact of shutdowns caused by coronavirus.

The Hang Seng Index sank 1.5 percent, to 23,829.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent, to 2,870 while the Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.9 percent, to 1,805.

Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore and Bangkok all fell 1 percent or more, while Mumbai was off more than 2 percent. Seoul eased 0.8 percent and Jakarta was 0.9 percent lower.

Sydney dropped 1.7 percent after data showed almost 600,000 Australians lost their jobs in April and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned of further economic pain to come.

Wellington's losses were shallower as the New Zealand government unveiled a US$30 billion budget to support the economy.

Signs of an easing in the outbreak globally had led to hopes for a slow return to recovery, but fresh infections in South Korea, China, Germany and other countries as they eased lockdowns have thrown a spanner in the works.

"The likelihood of a V-shaped recovery has been a long shot for quite some time now, and the only surprise is that it’s taken markets so long time to cotton on to what has been quite a high probability in any case," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson. (AFP)