Asian Stock Market: New Zealand bucks the trend but virus woes keep bears hopeful

• Asian shares track Wall Street’s losses as coronavirus (COVID-19) resurgence dent hopes of economic recovery.
• Downbeat comments from the ECB, RBA and the Fed also praise the sellers.
• New Zealand’s NZX 50 prepares for Wednesday’s RBNZ amid easing lockdown restrictions at home.
• Japanese markets are off for the second day, Sino-American tussle returns to the fore.

Markets in Asia remain offered as global central bankers convey economic worries based on the COVID-19 wave 2.0. Also adding to the risk-off mood can be the latest tussle between the US and China over the South China Sea after American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the UK, France and Germany for backing the rejection of Beijing’s claim over the disputed land.

Be it the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s first version of a testimony or the ECB President Christine Lagarde’s sober words, not to forget RBA’s Deputy Governor Guy Debelle’s hint for intervention, everybody from the central bank fraternity is worried due to the virus. The policymakers are more concerned with the pandemic as the latest wave hits the UK and Europe and may dampen the expectations of economic recovery.

While portraying the mood, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan drops 0.63% whereas China’s blue-chip index declines around 0.25% intraday ahead of Tuesday’s European session. It should additionally be noted that Australia’s ASX 200 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also shed over 0.50% but New Zealand’s NZX 50 becomes the exception and adds over 1.0% ahead of tomorrow’s RBNZ meeting.

South Korea’s KOSPI drops the most in the region, down 2.20% by the time of press, as South Korean Producer Price Index Growth beat forecasts and reduced odds of further easing after the nation re-opened schools the previous day. Further, Indonesia’s IDX and India’s BSE Sensex are following the suit with losses below 1.0% as we write.

Also portraying the risk-off mood is the 0.20% loss of S&P 500 Futures and mild gains of the US dollar index near a six-week top, flashed the previous day. Japanese markets are off and hence the US treasuries may move, mostly on the downside, on the European open.

Although the lack of any major data/events suggests a continuation of the latest trend, further comments from the BOE and the Fed members, coupled with the UK PM Johnson’s emergency meeting, remain as the key catalysts to watch.