Asia Pacific markets mostly fell on Friday, following three sessions of broad gains, as China delayed the release of trade data for January.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index backed off from the dizzy heights to which it had climbed of late, dropping 45.61 points, or 0.2%, Friday, to 23,827.98
Carmakers in Japan and South Korea declined amid worries that the virus outbreak, which led to widespread quarantine efforts in China, might hit the global supply chain for various industries as Chinese factories remain shut.
Japan’s Mazda fell 3.6%, Toyota shares were off by 0.7%, Nissan was down 1.3%, Honda lower by 2.7%. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor reversed some of its earlier losses to trade down 0.8% and Kia Motors was down 1.9%.
Recently, Hyundai Motor said it will cut output as its supply of parts is disrupted, Reuters reported. Honda Motor has also extended a plant shutdown in China due to the outbreak.
Shares of Japan’s Fast Retailing, which owns the clothing stores chain Uniqlo and is a heavyweight on the benchmark index, dropped 1.65%. Reports said the company temporarily shut many of its stores in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.94 per U.S. dollar, weakening from levels near 108.6 at the start of the week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index faded 89.43 points, or 0.3%, to 27,404.27.
Gaming stocks listed on the bourse fell as Macao temporarily shut down its casinos amid the pneumonia-like coronavirus outbreak. Shares of Melco International Development fell around 2.4%, Wynn Macau lost 1.4% and Galaxy Entertainment tumbled around 1%.
Australian stocks fell as miners and oil stocks declined. The Australian dollar declined 0.12% to $0.6716, gaining from levels near $0.6690 on Monday.
CHINA
The CSI 300 edged forward 0.09 points to 3,899.87.
China’s trade data for January, that was supposed to be released at 11.00 a.m. on Friday, will be combined with February’s trade data, according to a report citing the country’s customs office.
China’s exports and imports figures for January were supposed to be released on Friday, following a move by the country to cut retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods by half.
After being locked in a trade war where each side slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods from the other, the U.S. and China signed a phase one trade deal in January that suspended the trade war.
S&P Global Ratings on Friday issued a report where it revised its estimation of China’s GDP growth for 2020 from 5.7% before the outbreak to 5%, stating that "most of the economic impact of coronavirus will be felt in the first quarter, and China’s recovery will be firmly in place by the third quarter of this year."
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex erased 136.87 points, or 1.2%, to 11,612.81
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 15.99 points, or 0.7%, to 2,211.95
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dwindled 50.07 points, or 1.6%, to 3,191.48
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 returned from holiday to gain 156.8 points, or 1.4%, to 11,760.89
In Australia, the ASX 200 docked 26.62 points, or 0.4%, to 7,022.58
