BANGKOK — Shares skidded in Asia on Wednesday after Wall Street closed lower for a second straight day, led by drops in technology companies and banks.
Worsening coronavirus outbreaks in Asia have cast a shadow over prospects for a rebound from the pandemic. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 2% and other benchmarks also declined.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gave back 0.7%, pulling the index further below the record high it set on Friday. Small-company stocks, which have been beating the rest of the market in recent months, fell more than other sectors.
Asian governments are scrambling to secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines after seeing infection numbers surge in recent weeks. The rising caseloads are straining medical systems from Japan to India and leading to a restoration of pandemic precautions such as travel restrictions, quarantine requirements and a dimming of nightlife.
The Nikkei 225
NIK,
-2.09%
in Tokyo gave up 2.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HSI,
-1.63%
declined 1.8%. In Seoul, the Kospi
180721,
-1.64%
lost 1.5%, while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200
XJO,
-1.07%
shed 1.2% despite strong retail sales data. The Shanghai Composite index
SHCOMP,
+0.15%
inched slightly higher. Stocks fell in Singapore
STI,
-1.26%,
Taiwan
Y9999,
-0.45%
and Indonesia
JAKIDX,
-0.60%.
“Global stocks are still plumbing the lows after renewed virus concerns spooked markets overnight,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.
Worsening outbreaks in India and Thailand have also cast a pall on a recovery in travel, which in turn is clouding the outlook for oil and fuel prices, he said.
On Wednesday the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.68%
closed at 4,134.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.75%
lost 0.8% to 33,821.30. After shedding an early gain, the technology-heavy Nasdaq
COMP,
-0.92%
slid 0.9%, to 13,786.27.
Apple
AAPL,
-1.28%
fell 1.3% as part of a broad slide in technology companies. Banks also accounted for a big share of the selling, which came as bond yields fell, reversing course after moving higher on Monday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.56% from 1.60%.
In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil
CLK21,
-1.21%
lost 51 cents to $62.16 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gave up 76 cents to $62.67 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude
BRNM21,
-0.65%,
the international standard, declined 46 cents to $66.11 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar
USDJPY,
-0.03%
declined to 107.95 Japanese yen from 108.09 yen late Tuesday.
