Asian stock markets fell sharply on Monday, 04 May 2020, as risk sentiment turned sour on reigniting tensions between the world's top two economies after U.S. officials tried to pin blame for the coronavirus pandemic on China.
The tensions between world's top two economies reignited after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he believed that a mistake in China was the cause of the spreading coronavirus pandemic, though he did not present any evidence for the claim.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory, doubling down on Washington's pressure on China over the virus' origin as U.S. deaths and economic damage mount. The accusation came after Donald Trump's threat late last week of retaliatory measures against China as punishment for the outbreak, once again sparking tariff fears that rattled markets through much of the last two years.
The US top spy agency said on Thursday that it had determined that the virus was not manmade but was still investigating whether it was caused by an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan. The separate reports stated that U.S. intelligence documents accused China of concealing the severity of the coronavirus outbreak to hoard medical supplies.
Crude oil prices fell in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1.2% to $26.13 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also dropped 5.6% to $18.68 per barrel.
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