On Thursday, stocks across Asia fell sharply due to two major factors. The first one is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as the index plunged into a bear market on Wednesday. The second one is the World Health Organization (WHO), more precisely its decision. The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.
Stocks in Japan declined on March 12. The Nikkei 225 fell 4.41% to close at 18,559.63, leaving it in a bear market. Moreover, the Topix index dropped 4.13% to end its trading day at 1,327,88.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also followed the footsteps as its index dropped 3.52% as of its final hour of trading.
Unfortunately, South Korea’s Kospi index fell 3.87% to close at 1,834.33.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 7.36% to close at 5,304.60.
Mainland Chinese stocks had a bad day, as the stock indexes fell on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.52% to around 2,923.49. At the same time, the Shenzhen component dropped 2.31% to 10,941.01.
The Shenzhen composite fell 2.196% to approximately 1,818.456.
WHO and Stocks
Stock markets around the world are struggling to deal with coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, U.S President Donald Trump made the decision to suspend all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days. This way, the U.S government wants to tackle the problems connected with coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, Donald Trump announced that he would ask Congress to provide payroll tax relief, as well as measures for several groups impacted by the virus.
Trump’s decision had a negative impact on airlines. Shares of airlines in Asia Pacific fell due to this news. Australia’s Qantas Airways fell 9.9%. Moreover, shares of two major Japanese companies also experienced problems. For example, ANA holdings dropped 5.63% and Japan Airlines fell 7.03%.
Furthermore, shares of Korean Air dropped 4.62%. The ongoing situation is a major challenge for stocks.
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