Shares in Hong Kong plummeted on Wednesday as the city’s markets returned from a holiday amid coronavirus fears.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index regained 163.69 points, or 0.7%, to 23,379.40.
Japan’s Murata Manufacturing declined 0.58% while Sharp added 0.13%.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.09 per U.S. dollar after seeing an earlier low of 109.26.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index returned from an extended long weekend to drop 789.01 points, or 2.8%, to 27,160.63
Markets in mainland China and Taiwan remained closed for Chinese New Year.
Hong Kong-listed shares of travel-related firms plummeted. China Eastern Airlines plunged 3.43% and China Southern Airlines dropped 3.7%.
Insurance stocks also took a hit, with life insurer AIA declining 2.7% and Hong Kong-listed shares of China Life Insurance falling 3.6%. Meanwhile, gaming stocks dropped as Wynn Macau dove 4.1% and Melco International Development fell 5.2%.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Saturday declared a virus emergency in the city of 7.3 million, extending school cancellations until Feb. 17 and cancelling all official visits to mainland China. The ongoing virus outbreak has killed more than 100 in China, according to Chinese health officials. The number of infected in China has also now surpassed that of SARS.
Lam announced a package of measures aimed at limiting the Asian financial hub’s connections to mainland China. Flights and high speed train journeys between Hong Kong and the Chinese city of Wuhan will be halted, and annual official Lunar New Year celebrations for the city have been scrapped.
In Hong Kong, Sunny Optical slipped 1.8% while AAC Technologies dropped 4.2%.
Over in South Korea, LG Display gained 1.4%.
The moves in Asia came after the Apple CEO said the firm has restricted employee travel and shut one store in China due to the coronavirus outbreak, also adding that the company is cutting back on retail store hours in China. That came as Apple reported earnings and iPhone sales that smashed expectations.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6757 after rising from levels around $0.674 yesterday.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 8.56 points, or 0.4%, to 2,185.28
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index poked higher 1.32 points to 3,182.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 8.6 points, or 0.1%, to 11,676.51
In Australia, as the ASX 200 re-strengthened 37.07 points, or 0.5%, to 7,031.52
