Asia stocks drop Monday as investors brace for second wave of coronavirus

Asia stocks dropped on Monday as investors weighed the potential impact of recent spikes in coronavirus cases.

In Japan, Nikkei 225 dropped 3.47% to close at 21,530.95 while the Topix index slipped 2.54% to end its trading day at 1,530.78. Over in South Korea, the Kospi plunged 4.76% to close at 2,030.82.

Mainland Chinese stocks were lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 1.02% to around 2,890.03 while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.528% to about 11,192.27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 2.16% to close at 23,776.95.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 2.19% to close at 5,719.80.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index dropped 2.21%.