—– Tokyo’s Nikkei closed in negative territory, down 215.41 points, or -0.77%, at 27,699.25 points, as U.S. data released late last week fueled investor fears that the global economy could experience a downturn. Investors also sold export stocks after the yen strengthened against the dollar. The losers were Yaskawa Electric Corp.-4.06%, Eisai-3.74%, and Fanus Corp.-3.09%. Tokyu Corp.+2.67%, Meiji Holdings+2.47%, and Tobu Railway+2.46% were the gainers.
—– Australian stocks The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 6,789.90, down 1.60 or -0.024%, and the All Ordinaries closed at 7,006.40, down 5.40 or -0.077%, as investors were concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in Australia. The biggest losers were EML Payments-22.18%, Appen Ltd-15.02% and Polynovo-13.62%. The top gainers were Insurance Australia Group+5.94%, Unibail Rodamco Westfield+5.19%, and Steadfast Group+3.91%.
—– The South Korean Composite (KOSPI) closed at 2,403.69 points, up 10.55 points or +0.44% as institutional and foreign investors bought South Korean stocks. The auto manufacturers and suppliers led with Hyundai Mobis (+3.43%), Hyundai Motors (+2.62%), and Kia (+1.73%) being the best performers. The worst performers were IIdong Holdings-11.20%, Shinpoong Phar-8.86%, and OCI Co-8.19%.
—– China’s Shanghai Composite closed down 19.59 or -0.60% at 3,250.39 points as investors worried about the economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic after the number of infected people in China continued to rise. Losers were Zhejiang Narada Power Source(-13.49%), Gansu Golden Glass Tech(-12.36%), and Shenzhen Minkave Tech(-11.93%). The top gainers were Huaren Pharma+20%, Beijing Bohui Innovation+20%, and Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech Co. +15%.
—– The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed at 20,562.94 points, down 46.20 points or -0.22%, as investors awaited this week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting and U.S. second quarter GDP. The worst performers were Watts International Maritime (-25%), Putian Communication (-22.03%), and Noble Engineering (-20.27%). The best performers were GLOBAL Sweeteners (+48.72%), Enterprise Development (+36.67%), and Renco Holdings Group Ltd (+29.47%).
—– The Thai SET rose relatively well to close at 1,560.31 points, up 7.58 points or +0.49%. The winners were S. Pack & Print +29.58%, Waropakorn +29.34%, and Castle Peak Holdings +23.40%. The losers were Well Graded Engineering-8.57%, JKN Global Media-6.51%, and Syn Munkong Insurance-5.92%.