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| - Tokyo's key Nikkei index plunged more than three percent at the open on Friday after US and European sell-offs, with investors worried about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The Nikkei 225 lost 3.08 percent, or 676.55 points, to 21,271.68 while the broader Topix index was down 2.98 percent, or 46.67 points, at 1,521.39. European and US stock markets slumped painfully again on Thursday as coronavirus infections spread outside China, exacerbating fears of a global slowdown. Wall Street took a beating, with major indices shedding more than four percent in what is shaping up to be the US market's worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. "Japanese stocks are experiencing an inevitable hit from the US market rout," Seiichi Suzuki, senior market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute, told AFP. "Since the US market was unusually strong earlier, once it took a downturn, it's a hard plunge," he said. "Selling has been inviting more selling." Suzuki said no one knew when the drop would stop. "The bottom could be today or one week ahead... As for the spread of the virus, even infectious diseases experts don't know. How can market people know?" The dollar was trading at 109.52 yen against 109.69 yen in New York Thursday afternoon. Ray Attrill, head of forex strategy at National Australia Bank, noted global GDP contracted in 2009 in the wake of a new flu pandemic and the global financial crisis, but then recovered strongly in 2010. It is a "testament to the power of fiscal stimulus (from China in particular) and giving some reason to believe that a 'V' shaped recovery from this near-pandemic is not a completely naive hope". The bottom of the 'V' may look at least a couple of quarters long, something that could be called a 'U', he added. A slew of Japanese economic data released early Friday were also less than bright. Factory production in January edged up 0.8 percent from December while the jobless rate rose to 2.4 percent from 2.2 percent in December, the first worsening in four months. IT investor SoftBank Group tumbled 4.12 percent to 5,023 yen and Toyota Motor lost 2.70 percent to 7,184 yen. Sony was down 2.06 percent to 6,735 yen. Airlines also dropped, with JAL dropping 1.29 percent to 2,660 yen. mis/sah/qan
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