Asia report: Markets mostly lower after Trump contracts Covid
Markets in Asia finished mostly lower on another quiet day for trading on Friday, as oil prices fell during the afternoon after US president Donald Trump said he had tested positive for Covid-19.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.67% at 23,029.90, as the yen weakened 0.43% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 105.08.
Of the major components on the benchmark index, automation specialist Fanuc was up 0.84%, fashion firm Fast Retailing rose 0.97%, and technology conglomerate SoftBank Group added 0.83%.
The broader Topix index ended its session 1% weaker by the end of trading in Tokyo, at 1,609.22.
Traders in Tokyo enjoyed a full session of trading on Friday, after a halt on Thursday following a hardware glitch.
Markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea were all closed on Friday, for public holidays.
Late in the Asian day, it was revealed that Trump and his wife Melania had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Trump confirmed the news on social media, having earlier announced he would go into a 14-day quarantine after his aide Hope Hicks also tested positive.
“One possible risk associated with this situation is that how Trump carrying the coronavirus has changed the prospects of second stimulus fiscal support,” said AvaTrade chief market analyst Naeem Aslam.
“The White House needs to be involved in the second stimulus aid package negotiations. Investors are wondering now if there will be any positive news for the next 14 days on the stimulus package, and if there is not, what does this mean for the fragile economic recovery for the US economy?”
Aslam said the economic data was showing that the US economy did not have the same momentum that it did several weeks ago.
“Pretty much every single day, we are hearing news for more job losses ,and this is not an ideal situation for the US economy or for the stock market.
“The US economy needs more fiscal help, and in the absence of such, [it] is likely to suffer a lot.”
Oil prices continued their fall as the region entered the weekend, with Brent crude last down 3.42% at $39.53 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate off 3.44% at $37.39.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was off 1.39% at 5,791.50, as energy plays in the sunburnt country fell on the back of oil prices.
Beach Energy was down 6.37%, and Santos slid 5.47% by the end of trading in Sydney.
In fresh data out of Canberra, the country's retail sales were down 4% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in August, following a 3.2% improvement in July.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 managed gains of 0.09%, to close at 11,822.84.
Flag carrier Air New Zealand was ahead 7.2%, as the prospect of a so-called ‘trans-Tasman travel bubble’, allowing travel between New Zealand and parts of Australia, was mooted once again.
Both of the down-under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.39% at AUD 1.3977, and the Kiwi retreating 0.31% to NZD 1.5080.