HSI Falls As Govt Unveils Tighter Curbs In The City

Hong Kong shares ended lower on Monday, extending last week's losses on concerns about the spread of coronavirus, which has forced the city to ramp up containment measures including a ban on more than two people gathering in public.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.4 percent, to 24,603.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent, to 3,205 while the Shenzhen Composite Index edged up 0.3 percent, to 2,144.

Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and Wellington were all in the red, while Sydney, Seoul and Jakarta were higher.

The tech-rich Taipei market ended at a record high thanks to a 10 percent surge in heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which has been riding a rally in the sector thanks to people working from home during the virus.

After months of healthy rallies across equity markets – fuelled by trillions of dollars in government and central bank support – traders are beginning to step back as they weigh the long-term economic impact of the coronavirus.

With vast monetary easing measures put in place by the Federal Reserve pushing the US dollar lower against most other currencies, gold is flying, hitting an all-time high of US$1,944.71, well above its previous record of US$1,921.18 seen in 2011. It later pulled back slightly.

While the weak US dollar has been a key catalyst for the metal's advance, gold has also been boosted by its attractiveness as a haven in times of turmoil with China-US relations souring by the day.

"Strong gains are inevitable as we enter a period much like the post-global financial crisis environment, where gold prices soared to record levels as a result of copious amounts of Fed money being pumped into the financial system," said Gavin Wendt, senior resource analyst at MineLife.

The greenback was down against most other currencies, with the euro at its highest since September 2018, while higher-yielding units such as the South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah were also up. (AFP)