Asia markets were mixed on Friday as fears over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index regained 227.43 points, or 1%, to end a rollercoaster week at 23,205.18, with shares of Tokyo Electron jumping 2.3%.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.04 per U.S. dollar after weakening from levels below 108.8 yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index jettisoned 136.5 points, or 0.5%, to 26,312.63
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over the the coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 200 in China.
Markets in China continued on holiday.
Meantime, Chinese manufacturing activity was unchanged from the previous month in January, according to official Chinese data released Friday.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 50, said China’s National Bureau of Statistics. January’s PMI reading of 50 came in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters. The 50 level for PMI readings separates expansion from contraction.
The release comes amid Beijing’s efforts to contain an ongoing virus outbreak in the country that has sent jitters across global markets in recent days.
The economists warned that both the manufacturing and services PMI figures in February could plunge to a range of 40-45 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6713 after touching an earlier low of $0.6703.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex recaptured 73.36 points, or 0.6%, to 11,495.10
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 28.99 points, or 1.4%, to 2,119.01
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 16.95 points, or 0.5%, to 3,153.73
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 forged ahead 51.79 points, or 0.4%, to 11,717.44
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 8.77 points, or 0.1%, to 7,017.20
