Stocks in Asia were little changed on Tuesday morning as oil prices continued to slip following an overnight plunge on fears that global storage capacity will soon be filled as a result of weak demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.17% while the Topix index shed 0.25%. South Korea's Kospi, on the other hand, added 0.36%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.23%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.08% higher.
On the earnings front, HSBC is expected to post its first-quarter results on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell in the morning of Asian trading hours. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery dropped 5.56% to $12.07 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures also declined 2.65% to $19.46 per barrel.
The moves in the oil markets came after WTI for June delivery plunged more than 24% overnight, while Brent also saw sharp losses of more than 6%. Concerns over lackluster demand were exacerbated on Monday after the United States Oil Fund — popular with retail investors — said it would sell all of its contracts for June delivery beginning Monday, in favor of longer-term contracts.
Meanwhile, developments on the coronavirus front were also monitored. Globally, more than 3 million people have been infected while at least 208,131 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
Overnight stateside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 358.51 points higher at 24,133.78 — its first close above 24,000 since April 17. The S&P 500 added 1.5% to close at 2,878.48 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to end its trading day at 8,730.16
Monday's gains put the S&P 500 on pace for its biggest one-month gain since 1987 with an 11.4% surge in April. The Dow is up 10.1% month to date; that would be its best monthly performance since 2002. A partial reopening of the economy in the U.S. — in Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and others — is boosting investor sentiment.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.081 after dipping below the 100 mark yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.27 per dollar after strengthening from levels above 107.4 yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6449 after rising from levels below $0.642 yesterday.
What's on tap for Tuesday:
- Hong Kong: HSBC earnings for the first quarter
— CNBC's Fred Imbert and Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.
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