Asian stocks mixed as economic toll of virus worsens

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed Thursday after a White House warning that as many as 240,000 Americans might die of the coronavirus sent Wall Street tumbling and signs of the outbreak's global economic cost increased.

Benchmarks in Tokyo and Sydney declined but losses were smaller than Wall Street's 4.4% overnight fall. Shanghai opened down but gained 1% while Seoul advanced 2.4%.

The U.S. warning added to anxiety among investors who are trying to figure out how long and deep this history-making global economic downturn might be.

“Fear, fear and more fear descended upon the market,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.

Traders say markets will be turbulent until numbers of new cases decline, but Pan said that “still looks to be a distance away.”

The White House jolted financial markets with its announced Wednesday that anywhere from 100,000 to 240,000 Americans might die from the virus even if the country avoids shopping trips, eating in restaurants and other public activities through April.

Florida’s governor became the latest to issue a statewide stay-at-home order.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.4% to 17,818.72, while Hong Kong recovered from losses, gaining 0.4% to 23,178.08.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained to 2,761.50. The Kospi in Seoul rose to 1,725.64, while Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 slipped 2% to 5,154.30.

Benchmarks in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also retreated.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.3%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 lost 114.09 points to 2,470.50. The index is coming off its worst quarter since 2008 with a 20% loss.

The Dow lost 4.4% to 20,943.51. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.4% to 7,360.58.

The market's hardest-hit areas included banks, utilities and...