COVID-19 impacts in APAC through the lens of Dividend Index Points
COVID-19 pandemic wave has been sweeping through APAC with unprecedented disruption in the first half of 2020. As the region is entering the post-peak pandemic phase with businesses and consumer activities picking up, we aim to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on the region's most liquid indices through the lens of Dividend Index Points (DIPs).
Total DIPs (actual and forecasted DIPs combined) of 2020 are measured in three different phases of the pandemic - early stages of outbreak (as of February1st 2020), during the peak (as of April 1st 2020) and post-peak (as of July 1st 2020) respectively. The total DIPs for S&P ASX 200 (AXJO), Hang Seng Index (HSI), Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) and Nikkei 225 (N225) declined as corporates either announce or indicate dividend cuts due to the weak earnings outlook. As of July 1st, DIPs of ASX 200 fell by 28% from 272.6 on February 1st, 2020 to 197.2 in early July, while HSI's DIPs slid down 22% from 1042.1 to 815.7 during the same period. HSCEI and N225 showed a moderate drop of 8% respectively, led by the stable payout practice in mainland China and a strong commitment to shareholder return shared among key Japanese companies.
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This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.