Markets mixed as People's Bank of China cuts interest rates

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.9 percent.

Earlier in Asia, though, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.8 percent after the People's Bank of China cut interest rates again. The one-year loan prime rate was reduced from 4.15 percent to 4.05 percent and the five-year rate was reduced from 4.80 percent to 4.75 percent.

Concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak returned after South Korea reported its first death from the disease amid a jump of 53 new confirmed cases.

“I think investor are starting to question the idea that the economic impact of the epidemic is going to be only transitory,” said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors.

Goldman Sachs’ chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer said that “the impact of the coronavirus on earnings may well be underestimated in current stock prices, suggesting that the risks of a correction are high”.