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| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday as worries reintensified over the spread of the new coronavirus with health officials warning many countries were not doing enough to fight the outbreak. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.47 percent or 313.23 points to 21,015.89 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 1.60 percent or 24.30 points at 1,491.41. "Japanese shares are seen diving after US shares dropped sharply and the dollar-yen rate eased to around 106 yen at one point," Mizuho Securities said in a note. But "the downside could be supported by speculation that the Bank of Japan may expand purchase of ETF (exchange traded funds)" to address the risks of the virus to the market, it said. "Ahead of a weekend, wait-and-see attitude will gradually dominate the market, with eyes on news headlines linked to the novel disease," it added. The dollar fetched 106.30 yen in early Asian trade, against 106.14 yen in New York late Thursday, where the Dow ended down 3.6 percent on fears the virus is spreading in the US. The World Health Organization warned Thursday that too many countries were not taking all the steps needed to fight the spread of the deadly new coronavirus. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva he was concerned that a "long list" of countries were not showing "the level of political commitment" needed to "match the level of the threat we all face." In Tokyo, exporters and banks were lower alike, with Toyota dropping 2.40 percent to 6,840 yen, Sony trading down 1.78 percent at 6,806 yen, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial off 2.84 percent at 3,215 yen, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial down 2.45 percent at 493.5 yen. Seven and i Holdings surged 6.17 percent to 3,852 yen after a report the convenience store and supermarket operator scrapped plans to acquire the US oil refining firm Marathon Petroleum's Speedway gas stations for $22 billion. kh/sah/rbu
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