Markets mixed, “correction overdue”

Markets were mixed on Wednesday.

Asian markets rebounded from Tuesday's losses, with the Shanghai Composite rising 0.3 percent and the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.7 percent.

However, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.1 percent after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on imports of cars from the European Union.

US stocks were flat.

While China’s National Health Commission confirmed more than 500 cases of the deadly coronavirus, including 17 fatalities, Bethel Loh, macro strategist at ThinkMarkets, suggested that markets are considering the likelihood that “the situation will eventually return to normal, as it has historically”.

Nevertheless, Morgan Stanley said that “a correction is overdue, but will likely be contained to 5%”.