Stocks in Asia dropped on Friday as volatility continued to grip the markets amid investor concerns over the global coronavirus outbreak.
The Nikkei 225 erased 579.37 points, or 2.7%, to 20,749.75, with shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group plunging 6.1%.
The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, traded at 105.93 per U.S. dollar after strengthening from lows above 108 earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index jettisoned 621.20 points, or 2.3%, to 26,146.87.
Shares of airlines in the region declined on Friday. Japan’s ANA Holdings fell 3.76%. Over in South Korea, Korean Air Lines’ stock plummeted 5.58%. Hong Kong-listed shares of China Eastern Airlines also slipped 4.08%.
The moves came after and American Airlines saw their stocks plummet more than 13% each overnight. The International Air Transport Association, an industry trade group, forecast on Thursday that airlines could lose up to $113 billion in revenue this year — the most since the financial crisis — if the coronavirus continues to spread.
Australian stocks floundered, as Australia retail turnover in January fell 0.3% month-on-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS said it expected the outbreak to "impact aggregate retail trade estimates in coming months,” though there was “no apparent impact on any of the aggregate level data" in the data release for January.
Australia’s Qantas Airways dropped 7.1%.
At least 95,270 globally have been infected by the coronavirus so far, while at least 3,280 lives have been taken worldwide, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6615 after touching an earlier low of $0.6582.
In other markets
The CSI 300 slumped 68.22 points, or 1.6%, to 4,138.51.
In Korea, the Kospi index subtracted 45.04 points, or 2.2%, to 2,040.22
In Taiwan, the Taiex let go of 193.01 points, or 1.7%, to 11,321.81
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index docked 57.29 points, or 1.9%, to 2,960.98
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 flopped 214.99 points, or 1.9%, to 11,425.90
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost 179.52 points, or 2.8%, to 6,216.21
