Asian stock market: Mixed performance amid oil drop, US-China tension

• MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index register mild gains, Japan’s NIKKEI drops 0.30%.
• Easing lockdowns in Pacific nations, expectations of US re-open keep the risk-off away.
• The US alleged China for the virus spread, oil drops below $11.00.

Asian equities fail to carry the recent upside momentum amid fresh fears of the US-China tussle, coupled with warnings from the global rating agencies and oil price declines. On the contrary, upbeat coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions in Australia and New Zealand, as well as US President Donald Trump’s push for economy re-open, seem to keep the risk-on sentiment alive.

While portraying the same, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan register 0.20% gains while Japan’s NIKKEI drops 0.30% to 19,715 while heading into the European open on Tuesday.

Stocks in Japan might have taken clues from the BOJ's increase of bond purchases across all maturities but could have failed to ignore comments from the top doctor, as per Reuters, that Japan needs to keep emergency in place, 2021 Olympics ‘difficult’.

Also on the negative side was the global rating giant Fitch that said, the effects of coronavirus on banks in APAC (Asia-Pacific Countries) will be more severe than those of a normal cyclical downturn.

Further, China’s Emergency Management Vice Minister said that the coronavirus has brought new challenges, risks to safety in industrial production works.

Meanwhile, US President Trump cheers the recoveries in the latest pandemic data while reiterating calls of the economic restart. Additionally, the Republican leader alleges China over the spread of the virus which the Global Times criticized harshly.

Amid all these plays, oil prices slip below $11.00 with fresh concerns over storage and depletion in demand whereas stocks in China and India keeping small losses of below 0.30%. Further, Australia’s ASX 200 drops over 0.5% after the Treasury drops plans for any further aid package but those from New Zealand gain over 3.0% amid ease of lockdown restrictions, expectations of negative rates and upbeat comments from the New Zealand PM Ardern.