On Thursday, major stocks in the Asia Pacific region were mixed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Japanese stocks experienced problems. Moreover, Japanese stocks led losses among major markets in the region.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 2.13% to close at 21,948.23. At the same time, the Topix index ended its trading day 2.37% lower at 1,568.06.
In South Korea, the Kospi index also declined on Thursday. The Kospi index closed 1.05% lower at 2,054.89. The Bank of Korea decided to keep its policy rate unchanged.
Moreover, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was largely flat as of its final hour of trading. Shares of Standard Chartered listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose more than 1%.
However, mainland Chinese stocks defied the trend as they saw gains on the day. For example, the Shanghai Composite added 0.11% to about 2,991.33. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen component rose 0.32% to 11,534.02. The Shenzhen composite gained 0.24% to around 1,895.13.
Unfortunately, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.75% to 6,657.90.
Politicians and stock markets
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made an announcement regarding the situation. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will oversee the U.S. response to the virus outbreak. Trump stated that the risk remains low.
However, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that coronavirus would enter a pandemic phase in the nearest future.
Coronavirus outbreak is far from being over. In this situation, stock markets in Asia, the U.S., and elsewhere are struggling to deal with problems.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123.77 points to 26,957.59. Moreover, the S&P 500 declined 0.4% to 3,116.39. Another major stock index also fell on February 26.
The Nasdaq Composite rose only 0.2% to 8,980.77.
Moreover, on Thursday, Dow futures declined 272 points and indicated a loss of 293.59 points at Thursday’s open. The S&P 500 futures, as well as Nasdaq futures, also pointed to declines at the open on February 27.
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