· Asian shares and U.S. stock futures tumbled on Friday as disruptions to business from the coronavirus worsened, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 2.1%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index .N225 sank 2.94%. Australian shares were down 2.44%.
· Japanese shares dropped to a six-month low on Friday, racking up their fourth consecutive week of decline, as worries deepened over the economic damage from the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly at home and abroad.
The Nikkei share average dropped 2.72% to 20,749.75 the lowest close since Sept. 4, 2019. The broader Topix lost 2.92% to 1,471.46, the lowest finish since January last year.
· China stocks post their biggest weekly advance in a year even as they slipped on Friday, tracking losses in overseas markets, as investors expected more policy support to shore up the world’s second-largest economy hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
For the day, the blue-chip CSI300 index fell 1.6%, to 4,138.51, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.2% to 3,034.51 points.
· European stocks fell sharply Friday morning as the coronavirus outbreak keeps impacting businesses worldwide.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 tumbled 1.5% at the start of trading, travel and leisure stocks shedding 3.2% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into the red.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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