Asia Pacific stocks declined in Monday morning trade as developments on the coronavirus pandemic continue to be watched by investors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains regionally as it jumped 1.43% in early trade.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed. The Shanghai composite was slightly higher while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.18%. The ChiNext slipped 0.314%, as the the first batch of firms listing on the Nasdaq-style board under its revised IPO system made their debut on Monday. New regulations also now allow stocks on ChiNext to now rise or fall up to 20% in a session, as compared with 10% previously, according to Reuters.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.36% while the Topix index was 0.21% higher in morning trade. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.94%.
Shares in Australia also edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.17%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.74% higher.
Stock movements in India will be watched on Monday after the number of coronavirus cases crossed the 3 million mark, according to the latest data by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India currently has the third largest number of coronavirus cases globally, behind the U.S. and Brazil, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is considering fast tracking an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed in the U.K. for use stateside ahead of the nation’s upcoming presidential election, according to a Financial Times report.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.144 after its rise from levels below 92.4 last week.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.73 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 106 against the greenback in the previous trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7174 following a decline last week from above $0.724.
Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.32% at $44.49 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 0.33% to $42.48 per barrel.
Source: CNBC