Asian stocks were mostly higher on Friday as concerns around the ongoing coronavirus outbreak continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
Asian Stocks
- Mainland Chinese stocks gained on the day, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.38% to about 2,917.01.
- The Shenzhen component up 0.48% to 10,916.31.
- The Shenzhen composite also added 0.441% to around 1,779.43.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.39% higher, as of its final hour of trading.
- In Japan, however, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.59% lower at 23,687.59 as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing dropped 1.8%.
- The Topix index also declined 0.6% to end its trading day at 1,702.87.
- Shares of automaker Nissan plunged 9.64% after the company cut its annual operating income forecast by more than 40%.
- South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.48% on the day to 2,243.59.
- Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia advanced 0.38% to close at 7,130.20.
- Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan rose 0.25%.