Asian stocks mixed as economic toll of virus worsens

BEIJING, April 2: 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 4.4per cent overnight fall. Shanghai opened down but gained 1per cent while Seoul advanced 2.4per cent.
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.
Traders say markets will be turbulent until numbers of new cases decline, but Pan said that "still looks to be a distance away."The White House jolted financial markets with its announced Wednesday that anywhere from 100,000 to 240,000 Americans might die from the virus even if the country avoids shopping trips, eating in restaurants and other public activities through April.
Florida's governor became the latest to issue a statewide stay-at-home order.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.4per cent to 17,818.72, while Hong Kong recovered from losses, gaining 0.4per cent to 23,178.08.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained to 2,761.50. The Kospi in Seoul rose to 1,725.64, while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 slipped 2per cent to 5,154.30.
Benchmarks in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also retreated.
On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.3per cent.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 lost 114.09 points to 2,470.50. The index is coming off its worst quarter since 2008 with a 20per cent loss.
The Dow lost 4.4per cent to 20,943.51. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.4per cent to 7,360.58.
The market's hardest-hit areas included banks, utilities and other dividend payers.
Department store icon Macy's has lost 74per cent so far in 2020. So much of its stock value has vanished that it was removed from S&P 500 index of big U.S. companies, effective Monday. It is being moved to the small-stock index.
U.S. investors were rattled by mounting evidence of the virus's impact on major companies.
On Wednesday, Whiting Petroleum, one of the biggest shale oil drillers in North Dakota's Bakken formation, applied for court protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Automakers also reported sharp drops in March sales, including a 43per cent plunge for Hyundai.     -AP