Asian shares mostly lower despite hopes for US economic aid

Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday despite gains on Wall Street on hopes the Trump administration will act to cushion the economic pain of the virus outbreak.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.4% in morning trading to 19,581.83.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 plunged 2.2% to 5,806.50. South Korea's Kospi shed 1.4% to 1,937.10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 10 points higher at 25,402.40, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 3,006.50.

Markets are likely to remain unsteady, said Jingyi Pan of IG.

Firstly, the details of the fiscal support off the US remains uncertain at this point," she said in a commentary.

With the virus reaching the shores of the U.S. in a more significant manner only late into February, the economic indicators from the month could altogether be regarded as backward looking at this point and any disappointments potentially not be taken very well."