Japan Market extends losses as COVID-19 pandemic fears grow

Headline indices of the Japan share market tumbled on Thursday, 27 February 2020, as investors fled riskier assets on fears about global spread of China's coronavirus and seeking safety in gold and bonds. All industry categories of Topix index lost ground, with Mining, Air Transportation, Real Estate, Securities & Commodities Futures, and Oil & Coal Products issues being notable losers. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 510.37 points, or 2.28%, to 21,915.82, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange sank 40.04 points, or 2.49%, at 1,566.13.

The falls in Tokyo came as investors fled riskier assets amid intense fears about a slowdown in global growth caused by the rapid global spread of deadly coronavirus and to disrupt global trade competed with bargain-hunting impulses. Most new virus cases are now being reported outside China - the origin of the outbreak - with South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Iran emerging as new epicentres. Brazil reported its first infection overnight and US health authorities have said a global pandemic is likely.

 

Japanese shares sensitive to economic conditions were broadly lower, with blue-chip exporters Toyota down 1.2% and Sony down 1.9%. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. was down 1.02%, crude oil developer and distributor Inpex was off 2%, and Sumitomo Metal Mining was down 2.1%.

CURRENCY & COMMODITY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, appreciated against a basket of currencies, amid growing concerns about the spread of the pneumonia-causing virus. The Japanese yen, considered a safe-haven asset, traded at 110.25 versus the dollar, strengthening from levels above 111.00 earlier in the week.

US crude made a fresh one-year low of $48.17 per barrel in Asian trade, while gold rose 0.3% to $1,644.30 per ounce.

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