Oil price bounces back on Tuesday

A sharp bounce in the price of oil Tuesday provided some support to under-pressure stocks in early Asian trade, a day after global equities suffered their biggest losses in more than a decade.

World stock markets had capitulated on what has become known as "Black Monday", with the Dow Jones Index in the US losing more than 2,000 points, and the crash even triggering the emergency break in early trade amid panic selling.

But there was some relief on Tuesday as oil prices jumped around 5% after plunging by a third the previous day, in their worst session since the 1991 Gulf War.

Brent crude advanced 4.6% to around $36 a barrel.

Japan's main Nikkei index opened three percent lower following the dizzying falls on Wall Street but later pared back losses by more than half.

An hour and a half into trade, the Nikkei stood at 19,622.05 points, a loss of 0.4% compared to the previous day.

The Nikkei was helped by a sell-off in the yen, which is normally heavily bought during times of market uncertainty. A weaker yen is positive for exporters on the Japanese market and usually boosts their share prices.

The market in Seoul was down 0.4% and the ASX in Australia pared losses to around one percent after opening lower by nearly four percent.

In China, where authorities reported the lowest number of fresh coronavirus cases since data started being reported in late January, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.61% higher at 2,961.38 points.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, opened 0.63% higher, up 11.68 points, at 1,854.34.

Market panic had been driven by uncertainty over the spreading coronavirus but also a spat between Saudi Arabia and Russia over oil production that had battered prices.