TOKYO, Jan 28 ― Tokyo stocks opened lower today for the second straight day on fears over the widening coronavirus outbreak in China.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.87 per cent or 204.21 points to 23,139.30 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.97 per cent or 16.57 points at 1,686.00.
“Drops in the US market by a large margin on concerns over the spread of the new virus... accelerated risk-off sentiment, weighing on the Japanese market today again,” Yutaka Masushima, market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.
The virus, which can cause a pneumonia-like acute respiratory infection, has in a matter of weeks killed more than 80 people and infected some 2,740 in China, while cases have been identified in more than a dozen other countries.
The virus has caused global concern because of its similarity to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003 and was also traced to the trade in wild animals.
Panicked investors in the global market fled risky assets for safer bets like gold, bonds and the yen, after China warned that the virus was spreading fast.
In early Asian trade today, the dollar fetched ¥108.93 (RM4.07) against ¥108.88 in New York late yesterday.
In Tokyo, exporters were lower across the board, with Sony sliding 0.95 per cent to ¥7,790, Nintendo trading down 0.94 per cent at ¥42,000 and electronic parts maker Nidec down 2.73 per cent at ¥14,275.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 1.6 per cent at 28,535.80. ― AFP
