Hang Seng endures bruising session

Hong Kong blue chips closed down by more than 900 points after enduring a bruising trading day today. 

The Hang Seng Index gave up 969.34 points, or 4.03 percent at 23,063.57 at the close. 

Losses worsened after the midday break.

The HSI began the trading sharply lower  after an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve which also signaled deeper economic damage from the new coronavirus that emerged in China and is raging across the world.  

Earlier in the morning, stocks plunged by more than 660 points at 23,369.68.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index shed dived by 3.53 percent at 2,785.47. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange Composite Index sank by 4.85 percent at 1,711.7.

US stock futures also fell sharply after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and more companies and governments took action over the weekend to shut down European and American society in the face of the growing virus outbreak.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell by 5 percent Sunday night and triggered a halt in trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1,040 points, or 4.6 percent. The price of oil fell more than 2 percent while gold gained about 2 percent.

Stocks are set for more turbulence following a dizzying week that saw the Dow twice fall by more than 2,000 points and also record it’s biggest point gain ever — 1,985 points on Friday. The bull market that began in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis came to an end. Europe markets saw similar volatility.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said: “The virus is having a profound effect on the people of the United States and across the world,” Powell said.

Asia markets opened lower. Shares in Australia dropped sharply. The benchmark ASX 200 was down by 6.3 percent at 5,188 points at 12:45pm local time.

In Seoul, South Korean stocks extended  losses to a fourth consecutive session today as investors braced for a bigger-than-expected and drawn-out economic fallout from the global spread of the new coronavirus despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's unexpected rate cut. The Korean won closed to a four-year low against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 56.58 points, or 3.19 percent, to close at 1,714.86. Trading volume was moderate at 671 million shares worth 8.47 trillion won (US$6.9 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 721 to 154.

On Friday, the main KOSPI and the secondary Kosdaq market nose-dived due to concerns over the global spread of the new coronavirus.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average opened
higher but immediately drifted lower. The Nikkei is lower by 0.17 pecent at 17,402.19.

The Federal Reserve, Sunday cut its key rate by a full percentage point — to a range between zero and 0.25 percent — and said it would keep it there until it feels confident that the economy can survive a sudden near-shutdown of economic activity in the United States. The surprise announcement signaled the Fed’s concern that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in coming months and that it is prepared to do whatever it can counter the risks.

The fact the Fed acted before a meeting scheduled for mid-week indicated its policymakers felt they needed to move immediately to shore up financial markets and investors’ confidence. Although U.S. stocks did recoup some of last week’s losses with a big rally on Friday, most market watchers expected to see more volatility ahead with the number of coronavirus cases still rising in the U.S. and more industries facing a downturn in their business.-The Standard/AP