China, Japan Stocks Edge Lower As Coronavirus Fears Continue, South Korea Recoups

Markets in China and Japan edged lower in early trade on Tuesday as fears over the international spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continued.

China Markets Movement On Coronavirus

China on Tuesday confirmed 508 new coronavirus cases on February 23, up 99 cases from a day earlier. Almost all of these cases were reported in the Hubei provinces, in particular capital city Wuhan, as noted by Reuters.

The country's leader Xi Jinping called for "unremitting efforts" to control the spread of the virus and asked for the work to be resumed in the country in an "orderly manner," state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Consumer electronics giant Apple Inc. AAPL has reopened 29 out of its 42 stores in China by Monday, Bloomberg reported. A majority of these stores will continue to operate on shortened hours as the consumer demand remains low.

A host of other companies remain affected. Tesla Inc.'s TSLA production at the Shanghai gigafactory was halted for a couple of weeks due to the outbreak. Other consumer-facing companies like Starbucks Corporation SBUX and Luckin Coffee Inc. LK continue to keep a majority of the stores closed due to reduced demand.

Stocks in mainland China dropped lower nevertheless. Shanghai Composite traded 1.62% lower at 2,982.13 and Shenzhen Component was down 1.35% at 11,615.38.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped slightly lower at 26,796.37, after opening higher.

How Japan And South Korea Markets Are Dealing With Coronovirus

As the coronavirus shows signs of slowing down in China and businesses resume, fears of the coronavirus outbreak in other countries increase.

South Korea has confirmed 893 cases of the virus, with eight confirmed deaths as the Daegu city with a million inhabitants remains under a virtual lockdown following the spread of the virus from a church mass in the city.
"The jump in cases outside of China raises the risk of a sharper Q1 2020 global economic slowdown," Kim Mundy, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note, according to CNBC. "It also raises the risk that the economic disruption is more prolonged."

South Korea's benchmark index KOSPI suffered from a major sell-off on Monday as fears over the COVID-19 peaked following a surge in cases over the weekend. The index recouped somewhat on Tuesday trading 0.64% higher at 2,092.26.

As markets in Japan reopened after a 3-day weekend, benchmark index Nikkei 225 fell 3% to 22,687.69, following poor investor sentiments in the rest of the world, as the country scrambles to control the spread of the virus. At least 159 cases of the COVID-19 have been confirmed in Japan by Monday.

U.S. Futures

Futures in the United States upticked late Monday, suggesting a higher open after a bad day at the Wall Street. Dow Jones futures traded 0.53% higher at 28,115. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.8% at 9,163.75. S&P 500 futures traded 0.61% higher at 3,246.