schema:articleBody
| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Wednesday extending losses on Wall Street, as the coronavirus continued to spread and public officials warned of the increasing likelihood of a pandemic. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.21 percent or 273.56 points to 22,331.85, while the broader Topix index was down 1.16 percent or 18.77 points at 1,599.49. Japanese shares could see further falls as a result of concerns about the new coronavirus, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary. "Investors are disappointed, thinking share prices won't rebound unless the pace of growth in the number of patients slows," he added. In the currency market, the dollar fetched 110.54 yen in early Asian trade, against 110.20 yen in New York on Tuesday. The greenback traded above 112 yen late last week. The yen is "reasserting its safe (haven) attributes", National Australia Bank strategist Rodrigo Catril said. In Tokyo, exporters were broadly lower with Honda slipping 2.38 percent to 2,865 yen, camera and medical equipment maker Olympus trading down 2.93 percent at 1,965.5 yen and Sony down 1.60 percent at 7,152 yen. On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 3.2 percent at 27,081.36. kh/sah/ecl
|