TOKYO, Feb 26 — Tokyo stocks closed lower today extending losses on Wall Street as health officials warned of the increasing likelihood of a coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.79 per cent, or 179.22 points, to 22,426.19, while the broader Topix index fell 0.75 per cent, or 12.09 points, at 1,606.17.
“After seeing sharp falls of US shares overnight, the Nikkei started the session down more than ¥200 (RM7.68),” Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
“It extended losses as other markets in Asia fell. But bargain hunters came in as Chinese shares rebounded,” it said.
The relative stability of the yen was also seen providing support for the Tokyo market, the brokerage added.
The dollar fetched ¥110.38 in early Asian trade, against ¥110.20 in New York yesterday.
The greenback traded above ¥112 late last week.
The yen had trended lower as it was “reasserting its safe (haven) attributes”, National Australia Bank strategist Rodrigo Catril said.
Among major shares, exporters were broadly lower with Sony dropping 1.57 per cent to ¥7,155, while Toyota trimmed losses to end down 0.38 per cent to ¥7,545.
SoftBank Group lost 0.82 per cent to 5,415.
Camera and office equipment maker Canon jumped 3.58 per cent to ¥2,821.5 after a subsidiary announced that it began development of testing systems for the coronavirus. — AFP
