SYDNEY- Asian shares pared early losses on Monday as Chinese authorities lifted some coronavirus-related restrictions on work and travel, helping businesses resume work though overall sentiment was still jittery as the death toll from the epidemic climbed.
More than 900 people have so far died in China’s central Hubei province as of Sunday with most of the new deaths in the provincial capital of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
To contain the spread, China’s government had ordered lockdowns, cancelled flights and shut schools in many cities. But on Monday, workers began trickling back to offices and factories though a large number of workplaces remain closed and many white-collar workers will continue to work from home.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed some of its early losses to be down 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei was off 0.4 percent, after earlier stumbling more than 0.8 percent while Australia’s benchmark index was down a tad.
China’s indexes were the only ones in the black in Asia with the blue-chip index adding 0.4 percent and Shanghai’s SSE Composite up 0.3 percent.
“Markets have turned around a bit reflecting the news that Chinese businesses were returning to work,” said James McGlew, analyst at stockbroker Argonaut.
“Overall, I think, there is still a concern out there that the impact from the coronavirus hasn’t been fully quantified,” he added.
“Today’s (easing of restrictions) seems to be more of a symbolic gesture rather than the government actually being on top of the situation with this virus.”
The outbreak has killed more people than the SARS epidemic did globally in 2002/2003. The virus has also spread to at least 27 countries and territories, infecting more than 330 people.
Over the weekend, an American hospitalized in the central city of Wuhan became the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the virus. A Japanese man who also died there was another suspected victim. — Reuters
