Regional markets fall sharply

Asian stock markets fell further today as oil prices recovered some of their record-setting losses amid anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic's mounting economic damage.
Benchmarks in Tokyo and Southeast Asia retreated while Shanghai was little-changed after Wall Street suffered its biggest decline in weeks.
Benchmark U.S. crude slipped but still was near this week's all-time low. Brent crude, the international standard, retreated further. The fall has rattled investors because it adds to evidence of the depth of a global economic downturn with factories idled and consumers ordered to stay home.
Global oil demand is set to drop to levels last seen in the mid-1990s. Producers can't slow their production fast enough. Storage tanks are running out of room.

In Tokyo, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 230.45 points, or 1.2 percent, from Tuesday to 19,050.33. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, fell 9.47 points, or 0.67 percent, at 1,406.42.

The Kospi in Seoul tumbled by 1 percent at 1,861.04 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 dropped by 2.3 percent within the first half hour of trade. However the benchmark index went on to pare back most of its losses. By 1:20pm local time, it was down 0.4 percent to 5,200 points.

New Zealand's main index fell by 1.4 percent and Singapore was down 1.3 percent.
The price of a barrel of the benchmark grade of U.S. oil to be delivered in June lost 23 US cents to US$12.34 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It plunged 43 percent the previous session to US$11.57.-AP/The Standard