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| - Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday with the yen edging up and risk appetite dampened by concerns about a new virus from China. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.77 percent or 184.53 points to 23,846.82 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.58 percent or 10.19 points at 1,733.94. Global equities have been roiled this week by news of the Chinese virus outbreak which has killed 17 people and infected hundreds, with fears it could cause as much economic damage as the SARS epidemic that left hundreds dead in 2003. The World Health Organization is to meet again Thursday to determine whether to declare a global public health emergency over the disease, which has also been detected in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. "Over a short period, global stock markets could still be shaken up," said chief market strategist Masayuki Kubota at Rakuten Securities. But he added: "Personally I believe that the virus' impact on the global economy and stocks will be limited over the longer term." Stocks prices fell but bounced back during the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola epidemic that devastated parts of West Africa, he said. The safe-haven yen firmed against the dollar in a negative for Japanese exporters. The greenback was changing hands at 109.71 yen against 109.84 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon. Official data showed Japan's trade deficit expanded 34.2 percent year-on-year in 2019 with exports to China dropping and the yen strengthening. In Tokyo stocks trade, IT investor SoftBank Group fell 1.76 percent to 4,798 yen and Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing dropped 1.47 percent to 62,250 yen. Cosmetics maker Shiseido was off 0.52 percent at 7,534 yen on continued fears over lower demand from Chinese tourists. mis/sah/ecl
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