By Joanne Chiu
Stock futures and international indexes fell, as investors questioned whether fresh outbreaks of the new coronavirus could hold back global economic recovery.
By midafternoon in Hong Kong, E-mini S&P 500 futures had fallen about 3% and E-mini Dow futures had lost 3.5%, suggesting U.S. shares could come under pressure Monday.
Across the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, the South Korean Kospi Composite, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also declined, pulling back between 2.2% and 4.8%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9%.
Steven Leung, executive director of institutional sales at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong, said stocks pulled back because of concerns about another wave of infections. "The situation in the U.S. is worrying as many states never successfully contained the first coronavirus outbreak," he said.
In the last week, confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 2 million, driven in part by surges in more than a dozen states.
Meanwhile in China, health authorities have shut parts of Beijing and adopted tight controls after the capital confirmed a record number of new Covid-19 infections, sparking growing concerns about a coronavirus resurgence.
Mr. Leung said the pricing of cyclical stocks, or those whose fortunes are closely tied to the economic cycle, reflected expectations for a U-shaped global recovery, rather than swift improvement. "Many cyclical stocks remain battered, reflecting investors' disbelief that the global economy will recover anytime soon," he said.
U.S. stocks rose Friday in choppy trading, but nonetheless posted losses for the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each losing at least 2% over the week.
Choonshik Yi, head of Asia equities at UBP Asset Management Asia Ltd., said worse-than-expected U.S. jobless figures last Thursday helped explain the market pullback in recent sessions. Some investors were also disappointed by limited breakthroughs in coronavirus vaccines and other medical advances, he said.
The dollar continued to strengthen. In Hong Kong trading on Monday, the WSJ Dollar Index rose 0.38% to 91.69, putting it on pace for its third straight session of gains. The index, which measures the dollar against 16 other currencies, last Wednesday hit 90.41, its lowest end-of-day level since March 9, but it has since rebounded.
In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged lower to 0.661%, according to Tradeweb, from 0.698% on Friday. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
Brent crude oil, the global oil-market benchmark, dropped 3.3% to $37.44 a barrel. Last week it snapped a six-week streak of advances, declining 8.4%.
Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com
