Asia Pacific markets fell across the board Friday as investors remained cautious due to the growing number of coronavirus cases around the world.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.26% in late-afternoon trade. Reuters reported the city will suspend all schools from Monday following a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 ended the session down 0.61% at 5,919.20. The heavily-weighted financials subindex declined 0.72% while the energy subindex fell 1.98%.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan dropped 1.06% to 22,290.81 while the Topix index fell 1.42% to 1,535.20. In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.81% at 2,150.25.
Mainland Chinese markets also fell: The Shanghai composite was down 1.95% at 3,383.32, the Shenzhen composite was down 0.3% at 2,251 while the Shenzhen component was down 0.61% at 13,671.24.
