Stocks in Asia declined on Monday as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies reached an agreement on a record oil production cut.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index went sharply lower, 455.1 points, or 2.3%, to 19,043.40, as shares of FamilyMart dropped 7.17%
Markets in Hong Kong were closed for Easter Monday
Markets in Korea declined, as shares of chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 3.2%.
Meanwhile, oil prices pared gains but remained in positive territory in the afternoon of Asian trading hours. International benchmark Brent crude futures were up 0.86% to $31.75 per barrel. U.S. crude futures added 1.8% to $23.85 per barrel.
The moves came after OPEC and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, finalized an agreement to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day. That’s the single largest output cut in history.
Developments surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic also likely continued to weigh on investor sentiment, with more than 1.8 million confirmed cases globally while at least 112,241 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
In other markets
Markets in Australia and New Zealand were also closed for Easter Monday
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 docked 15.92 points, or 0.4%, to 3,753.26
In Korea, the Kospi index lost 34.94 points, or 1.9%, to 1,825.76.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index dropped 58.39 points, or 0.6%, to 10,099.22.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index subtracted 4.07 points, or 0.2%, to 2,567.25.
