Asian stocks fell in thin holiday trade on Friday after Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. warned of uncertainty ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Asian Stocks
- Markets in South Korea, China, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were closed for holidays.
- Japanese shares fell from a near eight-week high, with chip-related firms pacing the declines.
- The Nikkei average fell 574.34 points, or 2.84 percent, to 19,619.35 after gaining 2.6 percent the previous day.
- The broader Topix index closed 2.24 percent lower at 1,431.26.
Oil Prices
Beach Energy, Origin Energy, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos lost 5-8 percent despite oil prices rising on a slower-than-expected rise in oil storage demand.