Stocks in Asia were little changed on Wednesday as the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 88.72 points, or 0.5%, to 19,550.09, as shares of Fanuc slipped 2.5% while FamilyMart dropped 5.2%.
The Japanese yen traded at 107.04 per dollar after seeing levels above 107.2 yesterday
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lopped off 240.06 points, or 1.2%, to 24,145.34.
Developments around the coronavirus pandemic likely continued to be in focus for investors, with the International Monetary Fund warning on Tuesday that the global economy is set to see its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The Washington-based organization now expects the global economy to contract by 3% in 2020. By contrast, in January it had forecast a global GDP (gross domestic product) expansion of 3.3% for this year.
Australian markets were slightly negative. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6354 after rising from levels below $0.64 yesterday.
In other markets
Markets in Korea were shuttered as the country heads to the polls for parliamentary elections.
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 lost 28.34 points, or 0.7%, to 3,797.36
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index gained 114.27 points, or 1.1%, to 10,447.21.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index shed 29.01 points, or 1.1%, to 2,605.56.
In Australia, the ASX 200 demurred 21.44 points, or 0.4%, to 5,466.67
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 zoomed 247.96, or 2.4%, to 10,409.94
