Australian Market

Australian shares set a fresh intra-day record before giving up most of its gains to close 0.2% higher at 7103.2.  

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained as much as 0.8% to hit a record 7145.8 before turning tail to close short of Jan. 22’s record 7132.7 close. TPG Telecom was one of the big gainers, rising 11% on court approval of its merger with rival Vodafone Hutchison. Nonetheless, sector giant Telstra dragged telecommunications lower, falling 1.6% after first-half profit fell 7.6%. Beaten-down energy stocks got some relief from an overnight rise in crude prices, with Caltex Australia and Origin Energy gaining 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively.  

US Market

A rally in U.S. stocks paused intraday after a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases in the Chinese province at the epicenter of a global outbreak.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 39 points, or 0.1%, to 29512, retreating from a record set the prior day. The S&P 500 added 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%. Chinese officials reported the number of newly confirmed infections in Hubei jumped nearly 10-fold overnight, raising the prospect of a longer period of economic disruption in China than investors previously anticipated and weighing on markets that had climbed for much of the past two weeks.  

The number of newly confirmed infections in the province jumped to 14,840 on Wednesday, from 1,638 a day earlier, after the provincial health commission started to count clinically diagnosed cases, on top of people with a positive laboratory test.  

Commodities

Gold futures finished higher as refreshed worries about a viral outbreak shifted investor concerns back to the economic implications of the disease, buttressing bullion prices.  

Gold for April delivery on Comex rose $7.20, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,578.80 an ounce. Prices posted a gain on Wednesday, their fifth rise in six sessions. March silver, meanwhile, added 12.2 cents, or 0.7%, at $17.619 an ounce.  

Oil Futures

Oil prices ended modestly higher as traders weighed the latest developments tied to coronavirus as well as prospects for potential production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies.  

March WTI oil rose 25 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $51.42 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.  

Forex

The WSJ Dollar Index was little changed at 91.60.  Earlier in the day, the British pound rose 0.7% against the dollar after Sajid Javid, chancellor of the Exchequer, stepped down.

European Markets

The Stoxx Europe 600 retreated less than 0.1% as European stocks were muted as renewed worries about the spread of coronavirus weighed on investor sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 and DAX were broadly flat while the FTSE 100 declined 1.1% and the CAC-50 shed 0.2%.  

Asian Markets

Japanese shares closed lower, with the Nikkei Stock Average down 0.1% at 23827.73, while the safe haven yen regained some strength. The market will likely continue to keep a close watch on the coronavirus outbreak in Japan, following reports that more people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive. Construction stocks were among the worst performers.  

South Korean stocks edged down, led by falls in construction companies and shipbuilders. The benchmark Kospi closed 0.2% lower at 2232.96 as investors focused primarily on corporate earnings but coronavirus outbreak jitters continued weighing on sentiment as a spike in the death toll in China dampened the more upbeat mood of the previous session.  

Hong Kong shares ended lower as the market continued to fluctuate with the daily developments of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to close at 27730.00. Consumer-staple stocks were among the top losers weighing on the index.