Published: Feb 13, 2020 2:09 a.m. ET By MARKETWATCH
Nikkei, Hang Seng
retreat amid new uncertainty about outbreak
Asian markets came under pressure Thursday as
the number of new coronavirus outbreak victims soared in China.
China’s Hubei province reported nearly 15,000
new cases of COVID-19 due to a change in diagnosis methodology, according to a statement by Hubei officials,
which was reported by other media outlets such as the New York Times.
Chinese officials said the change was made so that more patients could receive
treatment, but the new numbers threw more uncertainty at the severity of the
outbreak and China’s ability to contain it.
“The China announcement has shaken Asia’s
confidence this morning” and “has poured a sizeable cold bucket of reality onto
investors,” Jeffrey Halley, senior Asia-Pacific market analyst at Oanda, wrote
in a note. “The argument that it was a one-off adjustment versus the integrity
of China’s data collection has left Asian stock markets in somewhat of a
limbo.”
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