A mixed day for Asian equities
Chinese stocks are rallying once again, building from the optimism yesterday but the gains today are more measured. The Shanghai Composite continues to sit higher after the lunch break, trading up by 1.5% at the moment.
However, other Asian indices are struggling on the day amid more pessimistic coronavirus developments still with yesterday's euphoria wearing off.
The Nikkei is closing lower near the lows with the Hang Seng also seen down 0.6% currently. Elsewhere, US futures are down by 0.4% to 0.5% going into European trading.
In the major currencies space, the mood is more tepid but the aussie is keeping lower after the state of Victoria announced a six-week lockdown in Melbourne. AUD/USD has fallen from around 0.6972 to 0.6950 following the announcement.