Asian shares and United States stock futures edged up cautiously on Wednesday, as investors tried to shake off worries about the coronavirus epidemic and look beyond the short-term hit to corporate earnings.
Asian Shares
- Chinese blue chip shares erased early declines to trade 0.52 percent higher.
- Australian shares were up 0.29 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.81 percent.
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan spent much of the morning session bouncing between gains and losses, losing 1.08 percent by midday.
- Chinese blue chip shares erased early declines to trade 0.52 percent higher.
- Australian shares were up 0.29 percent.
- Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.81 percent.
Currencies
- The euro was quoted at $1.0804, still close to its lowest since April 2017.
Oil Prices
- The price of US crude oil rose 0.21 percent to $52.16 a barrel.
- Brent crude rose 0.12 percent to $57.87 per barrel as a reduction in supply from Libya offset concerns about weaker Chinese demand for commodities.