BEIJING – Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday as oil prices edged lower amid anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic's mounting economic damage.
Benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia retreated while Shanghai was little-changed after Wall Street suffered its biggest decline in weeks.
Oil prices slipped further after hitting an all-time low this week. 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.
The plunge in oil prices “has stirred wider concerns of a sharp economic slowdown,” Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank said in a report.