Asian Stock Markets Plunge After 'Pandemic' Declaration... Japan Closes Down 4.41%

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Following the World Health Organization (WHO)'s declaration of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) as a 'pandemic,' major Asian stock markets plummeted on the 12th.

On this day, Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange saw the Nikkei 225 index close at 18,559.63, down 4.41% (856.43 points) from the previous trading day. This marks the first time in 2 years and 11 months that the Nikkei 225 has fallen below the 19,000 mark at closing. The Nikkei 225 started the day down 1.68% but gradually widened its losses, even dropping as much as 5.5% intraday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced COVID-19 response measures in a national address. The TOPIX index also closed down 4.13% (57.24 points) at 1,327.88.

Although Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency meeting and issued a message to stabilize the market, it was insufficient to convince investors who were highly anxious due to uncertainty. After the meeting, Governor Kuroda told reporters, "We will supply ample liquidity to the market and strive to stabilize the market through appropriate asset purchases in response to changes in the financial market." He added that they are closely monitoring the situation and "will not hesitate to implement appropriate measures in a timely manner as needed."

South Korea's KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices also closed at 1,834.33 and 563.49, down 3.87% (73.94 points) and 5.39% (32.12 points) respectively from the previous trading day. The KOSPI started at 1,887.97, down 1.06% (20.30 points) from the previous close, and widened its losses. Intraday losses exceeded 5%, falling to as low as 1,808.56, and a 'sidecar'?a temporary suspension of program sell orders?was triggered during the session.

Australia, which announced a large-scale stimulus package in response to COVID-19 on the same day, saw its S&P/ASX 200 index fall by 7.36%, while Taiwan's TAIEX index closed down 4.33%.

China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also dropped sharply. As of 3:33 p.m. (Korea time), the Shanghai Composite was trading at 2,917.14, down 1.73% (51.38 points), and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was trading at 24,311.20, down 3.65% (920.41 points).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.