CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session following the following the weak cues overnight from Wall Street amid fears the coronavirus outbreak could escalate into a pandemic and derail global economic growth.
The Australian market is extending losses from the previous session following the weak cues from Wall Street. Disappointing local corporate earnings results also dampened investor sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 107.50 points or 1.54 percent to 6,870.80, after touching a low of 6,800.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 110.80 points or 1.57 percent to 6,954.60. Australian stocks tumbled on Monday.
Oil stocks are notably lower after crude oil prices plunged overnight. Santos is lower by almost 3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is declining almost 2 percent.
Oil Search reported an 8 percent decrease in full year profit amid a fall in energy prices and declared a lower final dividend. The company's shares are losing almost 4 percent.
The major miners are also weak. BHP and Rio Tinto are losing more than 2 percent, while Fortescue Metals is lower by almost 2 percent.
In the banking space, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are declining in a range of 1.4 percent to 1.9 percent.
Gold miners are also lower despite a surge in safe-haven gold prices overnight. Evolution Mining is losing almost 4 percent and Newcrest Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
Ardent Leisure's shares are falling more than 6 percent following news that an inquest into four deaths at Dreamworld found the company's owners could be fined A$3 million if prosecuted.
Blackmores reported a 46 percent fall in first-half profit and said that the coronavirus threat as well as higher costs would have a material impact on its full-year results. The vitamins producer's shares are lower by more than 1 percent.
Caltex Australia said its profit for full-year 2019 on a historical basis dropped 31 percent from last year and also cut its final dividend. The convenience store, petrol station and refinery firm said chief financial officer Matthew Halliday will become interim CEO, replacing current CEO Julian Segal. Shares of Caltex Australia are down 1 percent.
Appen reported a 0.3 percent decrease in statutory net profit after tax for the full year despite a 47 percent surge in revenues, and increased its interim dividend by one cent. However, the tech company's shares are down almost 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6608, compared to $0.6597 on Monday.
The Japanese market, which resumed trading after a long holiday weekend, is tumbling and the safe-haven yen strengthened following the overnight losses on Wall Street amid fears that the coronarivus outbreak could escalate into a pandemic.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 701.35 points or 3.00 percent to 22,685.39, after touching a low of 22,335.21 in early trades. The Japanese market was closed on Monday for a holiday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is lower by more than 3 percent, while Fast Retailing is losing almost 4 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is falling more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is declining more than 2 percent.
The major exporters are sharply lower on a stronger safe-haven yen. Mitsubishi Electric is falling more than 5 percent, Panasonic is lower by almost 4 percent, Sony is losing almost 3 percent and Canon is declining more than 2 percent.
Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor is declining more than 3 percent and Honda Motor is down more than 2 percent. In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is falling more than 7 percent and Inpex is losing almost 5 percent after crude oil prices plunged overnight.
Among the few major gainers, Fujifilm Holdings is rising more than 5 percent.
Conversely, Dentsu Group, Keisei Electric Railway and Pacific Metals are losing more than 5 percent each, while IHI Corp. and Mitsui OSK Lines are lower by almost 5 percent each.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan said that producer prices in Japan were up 2.3 percent on year in January. That exceeded expectations for a gain of 2.1 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months.
Japan will also release final December figures for its leading and coincident indexes today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 110 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is declining more than 1 percent, while Shanghai, Indonesia and Taiwan are also lower. South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia are higher, while Hong Kong is little changed.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, reflecting concerns about the spread of the coronavirus amid a spike in the number of confirmed cases outside of China. A jump in confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea and Italy as well as new cases in Middle East countries like Iraq and Afghanistan also added to concerns about the outbreak escalating into a pandemic.
The Dow plunged 1,031.61 points or 3.6 percent to 27,960.80, the Nasdaq plummeted 355.31 points or 3.7 percent to 9,221.28 and the S&P 500 tumbled 111.86 points or 3.4 percent to 3,225.89.
The major European markets also showed substantial moves to the downside on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index showed a 3.3 percent nosedive, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both plunged by 4 percent.
Crude oil prices plunged sharply on Monday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus outside China. WTI crude for April delivery plunged $1.95 or about 3.7 percent to $51.43 a barrel.
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