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Asian Stocks Are Set to Drop Tomorrow As China Traders Return

Asia traders braced for the reopening of mainland Chinese markets on Monday, with stocks set for further declines as the deadly virus outbreak showed no signs of slowing.

Futures pointed lower in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia after the S&P 500 Index slumped 1.8% on Friday. Investors are also assessing intervention from China’s central bank, which is providing more than $21 billion of liquidity in a bid to support markets. Among the weekend’s coronavirus developments, a man died in the Philippines in the first fatality outside China.

The offshore yuan was steady early Monday. Australian bonds climbed with the three-year yield heading for a record low. The Aussie and yen were little changed.

Investors are preparing for more turmoil after global equities last week posted the worst week since August amid concern growth will falter as the virus spreads. The PBOC pledged 150 billion yuan ($21.7 billion) in liquidity, but that may not be enough to prevent the country’s stocks and currency from falling, analysts said. Airlines in Asia, Europe and the Middle East have stopped services to mainland China.

“It’s way too early to dismiss this outbreak as just a brief interruption of constructive markets,” said Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit Bank AG in London. “If the outbreak does not dissipate soon, the authorities in both China and elsewhere are likely to extend travel bans, people will stay at home, and the increase in uncertainty will cause consumers to delay consumption and firms to defer investment.”

Elsewhere, the pound dipped as investors reacted to a report that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson could walk away from talks over Britain’s future trade relationship with the European Union. Crude is also set to decline as the virus lockdown eats into demand for oil products in China, the biggest market for OPEC+ crude exports.

Here are some key events coming up:

The first contest to choose a Democratic nominee to run against Donald Trump in November is the Iowa caucuses Monday.The Caixin China PMI barometer of manufacturing is also due on Monday, followed later by the U.S. manufacturing gauge from the Institute for Supply Management. There are also a slew of other PMIs, including India and Brazil.Tuesday brings a policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia.Friday is the U.S. employment report for January.

These were the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 declined 1.8% on Friday.Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.8%.Hang Seng futures retreated 1.2%.Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.7%.

Currencies

The yen was at 108.43 per dollar.The offshore yuan added 0.1% to 6.9910 per dollar.The euro bought $1.1087.The pound lost 0.2% to $1.3185.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell eight basis points to 1.51% on Friday.Australia’s 10-year yield dropped six basis points to 0.89%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.1% to $51.56 a barrel on Friday.Gold rose 1% to $1,589.16 an ounce.