- Stocks in Asia fell in Thursday morning trade.
- Investors await the release of Australia's jobs data for March, set to be out at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN, which could provide clues to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the country's economy.
- A report from the U.S. Commerce Department published Wednesday showed retail sales stateside in March plunging a record 8.7% — the largest one-month decline since the department began tracking the series in 1992.
Stocks in Asia fell in Thursday morning trade as concerns over the scale of the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.27% in early trade as shares of Fanuc declined 2.13%. The Topix index dropped 1.23%. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.57%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.86% as shares of major banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac fell at least 2% each.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.5% lower.
Investors await the release of Australia's jobs data for March, set to be out at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN, which could provide clues to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the country's economy.
Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign exchange strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a Thursday note that headlines surrounding the coronavirus pandemic "continue to paint a grim picture." Globally, more than 2 million people have been infected by the virus while at least 133,354 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 445.41 points to close at 23,504.35 while the S&P 500 ended its trading day 2.2% lower at 2,783.36. The Nasdaq Composite closed 1.4% lower at 8,393.18. Wednesday's moves marked the Dow and S&P 500's worst session since April 1.
The moves came as a report from the U.S. Commerce Department published Wednesday showed retail sales stateside in March plunging a record 8.7% — the largest one-month decline since it began tracking the series in 1992.
Oil prices jumped in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.85% to $28.48 per barrel. U.S crude futures also gained 3.27% to $20.52 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.639 after seeing levels below 99.0 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.67 per dollar, as compared to levels above 108 seen earlier in the week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6316 after declining from levels above $0.64 yesterday.
What's on tap for Thursday:
- Australia: Employment change for March at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN
— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
Source: cnbc.com
