Stocks in Asia fell on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold and investors continued to watch for developments on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index shed 401.65 points, or 1.7%, to 22,977.75.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.86 per U.S. dollar after seeing levels above 109.2 yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index continued to struggle, dropping 711.5 points, or 2.6%, to 26,449.13
Hong Kong-listed shares of travel-related firms declined, as China Southern Airlines fell 3.3% and Cathay Pacific slipped 2.1%. Gaming companies also plunged as Wynn Macau dropped 5.2% and Melco International Development fell 5.4%.
In Taiwan, where markets returned to trade from the holidays, the Taiex plunged as shares of manufacturing giant and major Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, dropped nearly 10%.
In South Korea, shares of Samsung Electronics fell 3.2% after the industry heavyweight posted a fourth quarter operating profit drop of about 34% as compared to the same period a year ago.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6731 after declining from levels above $0.676 yesterday.
Markets in China continued on holiday.
Investors continued to watch for developments on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that has already taken 170 lives and infected more than 7,700 in China, according to the latest update by China’s National Health Commission.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex returned to trading after a Chinese New Year holiday, collapsing 696.97 points, or 5.8%, to 11,421.74
In Korea, the Kospi index slumped 37.28 points, or 1.7%, to 2,148
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 11.89 points, or 0.4%, to 3,170.68
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 subtracted 10.86 points, or 0.1%, to 11,665.85
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 23.09 points, or 0.3%, to 7,008.43
