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 (Bloomberg) -- It could have been a lot worse for Hong Kong's big market reopen as investors sought to gauge the widening impact of the coronavirus on China's economy.The Hang Seng Index fell as much as 3% Wednesday on the first day of trading after the Lunar New Year. Though that was briefly its worst slide on a closing basis since October 2018, the index steadied to end the day 2.8% lower -- matching its loss from Jan. 21. Meanwhile, the offshore yuan strengthened 0.1% to 6.9587 per dollar.While the stock declines were steep -- especially for landlords, travel firms and casinos -- they were by no means unusual for a market that's been walloped by trade tensions and violent protests in the past year. Before today, the Hang Seng Index had on 20 occasions closed at least 1.5% lower since the start of 2019, compared to just 10 times for the S&P 500 Index. A 6.5% loss in FTSE China A50 Index futures since Friday had also set traders up for a more painful reopen.Airlines Scramble to Cancel China Flights as Virus SpreadsTraders said higher-than-average volume helped limit volatility, despite trading links with onshore markets being shut due to the extended holiday in mainland China. It marked the first time since Friday morning that the city's traders could catch up with the risk-off sentiment that has dominated global markets. For some, that meant buying stocks on the cheap on speculation that the economic impact from the virus outbreak will be contained. For others, that's still a dangerous bet to make."It sho
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 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. issued a wider-than-usual sales forecast to reflect what Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook called "uncertainty" caused by a virus outbreak that's cutting retail traffic, shutting stores and prompting the company to limit employee travel in China, one of its most important markets.The company is also taking steps to make up for production shortages, particularly in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the coronavirus originated and home to some of the company's suppliers, Cook said on a conference call discussing recent results. Sales in the current period will be $63 billion to $67 billion. While that's higher than analysts predicted, it's also a wider range than the company tends to forecast."We do have some suppliers in the Wuhan area. All of the suppliers there are alternate sources and we're obviously working on mitigation plans to make up any expected production loss," Cook said. "We factored our best thinking in the guidance that we provided you. With respect to supply sources that are outside the Wuhan area, the impact is less clear at this time."The CEO has led Apple to a remarkable comeback in the past year, reviving iPhone sales, dodging the worst of a U.S.-China trade war and creating a new gadget hit with AirPods. The company's holiday-quarter revenue surpassed Wall Street expectations, with double-digit percentage sales growth from iPhones, wearables and services in mainland China.Read more: Apple Supply Chain Braces for Disruption From CoronavirusHowever,
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 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson risked a rift with President Donald Trump as he gave Huawei Technologies Co. the green light to help develop Britain's next-generation broadband networks.While the U.K. government announced it will keep what it calls high-risk vendors such as Huawei out of the most sensitive core parts of its 5G mobile networks, the company will be able to supply other equipment that is critical to the roll-out of broadband such as antennas and base stations.That is a blow to the Trump administration, which wanted Johnson to impose an outright ban on the Shenzhen-based tech giant, citing concerns that its gear could be vulnerable to infiltration by Chinese spies. The two men spoke about the U.K. decision on Tuesday, according to Johnson's office. American officials had warned the U.S. may be forced to hold back secret intelligence from the U.K. in future, if Johnson pressed ahead with giving Huawei a role. The company has always denied it poses any security risk.A key pillar of Johnson's vision for a future outside the world's richest single market is a trade deal with the U.S. and the Huawei license risks setting up a clash with Trump. On their call on Tuesday, Johnson "underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies," his office said.The initial reaction from Washington was muted.A senior U.S. administration official expressed disappointment at Johnson's decision, but also hope that the
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