Stocks in Asia Pacific traded wildly on Friday after shares of Wall Street saw a historic drop overnight, as fears over the global coronavirus outbreak continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1,128.58 points, or 6.1%, Friday to 17,431.05, after earlier plunging 10% during the session. The moves followed its Thursday close in bear market territory at 18,559.63 — more than 20% off its 52-week closing high.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.44 per U.S. dollar after weakening from an earlier high of 104.48.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 276.16 points, or 1.1%, to 24,032.91
In Australia, shares recovered from earlier losses and made a dramatic comeback, after falling more than 8% at its lows during the session.
Still, the index remained in bear market territory — more than 20% off its 52-week closing high — which it fell into on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6288 following a decline from levels above $0.64 yesterday.
Shares of airlines regionally saw steep losses on Friday, with Australia’s Qantas Airways diving 12.6%. Japan’s ANA Holdings dwindled 7.6% and Japan Airlines plunged 12.5%,. Korean Air Lines in South Korea also slipped 5.1%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of China Southern Airlines declined 2.9% while Cathay Pacific dropped 5.3%, as of their final hour of trading. Singapore Airlines’ in Singapore also slipped 2.9%.
The moves came as governments took steps to curb travel as they seek to contain the coronavirus outbreak. India is temporarily suspending almost all travel visas starting Friday, while U.S. President Donald Trump this week announced a travel ban from Europe to the United States.
In other markets
The CSI 300 slipped 55.6 points, or 1.4%, to 3,695.31.
In Korea, the Kospi index backpedaled 62.89 points, or 3.4%, to 1,771.44
In Taiwan, the Taiex subtracted 293.45 points, or 2.8%, to 10,128.87
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index faltered 44.64 points, or 1.7%, to 2,634
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 let go of 506.41 points, or 4.9%, to 9,826.86
In Australia, the ASX 200 finally gained 234.67 points, or 4.4%, to 5,539.30.
