BEIJING – Asian stocks were mixed Thursday after a White House warning that as many as 240,000 Americans might die of the coronavirus sent Wall Street tumbling and signs of the outbreak's global economic cost increased.
Benchmarks in Tokyo and Sydney declined but losses were smaller than Wall Street's 4.4% overnight fall. Shanghai opened down but gained 1% while Seoul advanced 2.4%.
The U.S. warning added to anxiety among investors who are trying to figure out how long and deep this history-making global economic downturn might be. “Fear, fear and more fear descended upon the market,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.