Shares in Asia mostly fell by the close on Tuesday, as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to roil companies amid expectations it would cause a slowdown. Oil prices also tumbled.
The Nikkei 225 index dumped 329.44 points, or 1.4%, to 23,193.80. Declines were seen across the tech sector, with Softbank diving 4.9%.
Alps Alpine tumbled 2.9%, Murata Manufacturing fell 3.4%. Taiyo Yuden plunged 5.7%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index capsized 429.4 points, or 1.5%, to 27,530.20.
In its full-year 2019 results out on Tuesday, HSBC reported 2019 pre-tax profit of $13.35 billion, while revenue during the same period was $56.1 billion. That missed expectations, as analysts had predicted HSBC’s report card for last year to largely match that of 2018, when reported pre-tax profits were $19.89 billion and revenue was $53.78 billion.
While HSBC is headquartered in London, most of its profits come from Asia, particularly Hong Kong. Its Hong Kong-listed shares dropped 2.2% in the afternoon.
Hong Kong’s Sunny Optical dived 4.9%, and Aac Tech stumbled almost 4%. South Korea’s SK Hynix lost 2.9%, and Samsung Electronics declined 2.8%.
Over in Taiwan, Hon Hai Precision Industry, Apple’s largest supplier, declined almost 1% before settling down 0.6%.
CHINA
The CSI 300 moved lower 19.91 points, or 0.5%, to 4,057.51.
China on Tuesday said it would accept applications for tariff exemptions from companies on U.S. goods, from March 2. That would apply to 696 American products, including pork, soybeans, crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
Meanwhile, Apple suppliers in Asia fell sharply in the morning, as the tech giant warned it may not meet its quarterly revenue forecast because of lower iPhone supply globally and lower Chinese demand as a result of disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak.
Apple makes most of its iPhones and products in China. The epidemic has caused the company to temporarily halt production and close retail stores in China. Some Apple retail stores reopened in China with reduced schedules last week.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 114.53 points, or 1%, to 11,648.98
In Korea, the Kospi index folded 33.29 points, or 1.5%, to 2,208.88
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 16.37 points, or 0.5%, to 3,196.63
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 61.86 points, or 0.5%, to 11,935.84
In Australia, the ASX 200 sank 11.4 points, or 0.2%, to 7,113.70
