Asian shares were mixed Wednesday as reports of dismal company earnings add to pessimism over the widespread economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Asian Shares
- Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% after Fitch Ratings downgraded its outlook for Japan to “negative” from “stable.”
- The Nikkei 225 gave up 218.83 points to 22,438.55.
- South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 2,263.35.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3% to 6,001.90.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed at 24,773.44.
- The Shanghai Composite jumped 1.1% to 3,261.76.
Oil Prices
- Benchmark U.S. crude oil added 1 cent to $41.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 56 cents to $41.04 per barrel on Tuesday.
- Brent crude, the international standard, gained 11 cents to $43.33 per barrel.
Currencies
- The U.S. dollar slipped to 105.04 Japanese yen from 105.07 yen on Tuesday.
- The euro cost $1.1728, up slightly from $1.1718.
