Stocks in Asia Pacific were mixed on Tuesday as they seesawed after shares on Wall Street plunged to their biggest day drop in more than three decades overnight, and the Philippines shut its markets temporarily.
The Nikkei 225 nosed ahead 9.49 points, or 0.1%, to 17,011.53
The safe-haven Japanese yen traded at 106.74 per U.S. dollar after seeing an earlier high of 105.85.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index surged 200.16 points, or 0.9%, to 23,263.73.
Investors watched the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the global coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 168,000 across the world and taken at least 6,610 lives, according to the World Health Organization. Fears over the economic impact of the virus have triggered strong moves in global markets in recent days.
In a Tuesday release of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting in early March, the central bank said: “In considering the policy decision, members observed that it was becoming increasingly clear that COVID-19 would cause major disruption to economic activity around the world.”
The RBA cut its cash rate by 25 basis points in March to 0.5%, a new record low.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6081 after seeing levels above $0.64 last week.
CHINA
The CSI 300 dropped 18.16 points, or 0.5%, to 3,709.68.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index lost another 42.42 points, or 1.7%, to 1,672.44
In Taiwan, the Taiex dumped 278.14 points, or 2.9%, to 9,439.63
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 41.24 points, or 1.7%, to 2,454.53
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 dipped 42.19 points, or 0.5 %, to 9,434.42
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 291.41 points, or 5.8%, to 5,293.41.
