Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

1 day ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Global Stocks Slide on Growing Concern About China Virus
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 21, 2020

Share

BEIJING — Stock and oil prices fell Tuesday as concern about the potential impact of a Chinese disease outbreak increased and a rating agency cut Hong Kong’s credit rating for official borrowing due to political tension.

Authorities said some infections were transmitted person-to-person, increasing the risk the disease might spread faster during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Chinese-speaking world’s busiest travel season.
Indexes in London and Frankfurt declined and Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong closed sharply lower after China announced a fourth death from coronavirus. The outbreak, centered on the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has sickened more than 200 people.
Authorities said some infections were transmitted person-to-person, increasing the risk the disease might spread faster during the Lunar New Year holiday, the Chinese-speaking world’s busiest travel season.
Other Asian governments stepped up screening of travelers from China, highlighting the potential impact on tourism. That prompted a selloff in of airlines, hotel operators and other travel businesses.
The outbreak “is developing into a major potential economic risk to the Asia-Pacific region,” said Rajiv Biswas of IHS Markit in a report.
Biswas pointed to the example of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, whose economic impact was felt as far away as Canada and Australia.
Photo of a man walking by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo
A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Asian stock markets have tumbled as concern about the impact of a Chinese disease outbreak on tourism and regional economies grows. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Moody’s Cited the Lack of ‘Tangible Plans’

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.8% to 7,588 and Frankfurt’s DAX dipped 0.1% to 13,531. France’s CAC 40 was 0.7% lower at 6,034.
On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 0.3% and 0.2% as markets prepared to reopen after a three-day holiday weekend.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1% to 3,063.56 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.9% to 23,866.15.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index sank 2.8% to 27,985.33 after Moody’s Investors Service cut its government credit rating by one notch to Aa3 from Aa2.
Moody’s cited the lack of “tangible plans” to respond to issues highlighted by six-month-old anti-government protests and said that may reflect “weaker inherent institutional capacity” than previously thought. The protests began in June over a proposed extradition law and have expanded to include demands for greater democracy in the Chinese territory.
Seoul’s Kospi sank 1% to 2,2239.69 and Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 7,066.30. India’s Sensex was 0.3% lower at 41,381.52. Southeast Asian markets also declined.

The European Central Bank Also Is Due to Make an Interest Rate Decision

Air China Ltd. lost 3.2% and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways dropped 4.1%. Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc. fell 2.2%.
Also Tuesday, the Bank of Japan left its policy rate at -0.1% and affirmed its commitment to increase holdings of government bonds. Board members raised their economic growth projection for the year that starts in April to 0.9% from 0.7%.
The European central bank also is due to make an interest rate decision this week. No change is expected though investors will pay attention to the bank’s views on the economy.
Energy: Benchmark U.S. oil fell 84 cents to $57.70 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 5 cents on Monday to close at $58.58. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 94 cents to $64.26 per barrel in London. It advanced 35 cents the previous session to $65.20.
Currencies: The dollar declined to 110.03 yen from Monday’s 110.18 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1117 from $1.1094.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

UP NEXT

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisions Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

US Paves Way to Resume Ethane Exports to China Amid Trade Truce

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

1 day ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

1 day ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

1 day ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

1 day ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

1 day ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

10 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
10 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
10 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
1 day ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

1 day ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend