-– Asian stock markets were mostly down on Thursday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring economies and governments to their knees.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 lost its gains from the last session as it slid 2.29% by 10:14 PM ET (3:14 AM GMT).
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.74% whilst neighboring South Korea’s KOSPI gained a modest 0.74%.
In Greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 0.56%. China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.19% while the Shenzhen Component was down 0.16%.
Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Americans for “a hell of a bad two weeks” as projections show that COVID-19 could kill more Americans than servicemen killed during recent conflicts such as World War One, the Korean War or the Vietnam war.
The World Health Organization reported 163,199 cases in the United States, and over 800,000 cases globally as of April 1.
“The incremental news on the virus in the last 24 to 48 hours has been disappointing,” John Porter, a fund manager at Mellon Investments, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
“The global economy has hit a wall, there’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty, and that’s contributing to the volatility in the markets and the downward trajectory we’ve seen the last few days,” he added.
