By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning, but mostly continuing their retreat from Tuesday.
Investors continued to exercise caution as a second wave of COVID-19 cases emerged in China and South Korea.
South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.05%, reversing earlier losses, by 10:51 PM ET (3:51 AM GMT). The country’s statistics office reported the biggest month of job losses in more than two decades.
The number of jobs in April fell by 476,000 from the same month in 2019.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also reversed earlier losses to gain 0.08%.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.81% and the ASX 200 slipped 0.78%. China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.19% and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.39%.
Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent is due to release its first quarter earnings later in the morning. China will also release April industrial production and retail sales data on Friday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve also had their say, with several regional presidents making speeches ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s address later in the day.
The Fed could increase the amount of capital that Wall Street Banks need to maintain during the COVID-19 epidemic, curtailing their ability to pay dividends, Governor Randal Quarles said on Tuesday.
St Louis President James Bullard said in a video speech that continued shutdowns ran the risk of a depression. Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari remained hopeful of a “gradual, muted recovery” from the outbreak, whereas Dallas President Robert Kaplan suggested that economy will need more fiscal stimulus if the jobless rate continues to rise.
Meanwhile, some investors remained wary of a quick recovery.
“Markets’ positive take on the recovery, after unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, will be put to the test,” Alexander Kraemer, head of cross-asset strategy at Commerzbank AG (OTC:CRZBY), told Bloomberg.
“Market participants await confirmation that the economy will indeed start to return to normalcy” in the second half of the year.