Asian markets witnessed lower rates on Friday upon the rapid spread of a viral illness in China.
The Coronavirus infection has killed at least 25 people while the number of confirmed cases has leapt to 830, health officials said.
Authorities have shut down public transport in seven cities; a total of more than 20 million people, at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan.
“Markets are fearful the virus could spread, and even if it doesn’t the impact on China could be large,” said National Australia Bank analyst Tapas Strickland in a note.
But the World Health Organization has stopped short of declaring a global health emergency — a rare instrument used only for the worst outbreaks.
“The WHO has provided a hefty dose of market prescribed penicillin that has lowered investors’ fever for the time being,” said AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes.
Hong Kong was down 0.2 percent in morning trade while Tokyo was flat heading into the break.
Sydney was up 0.3 percent and Taipei rose 0.2 percent but Seoul fell 0.9 percent after South Korea reported its second confirmed Coronavirus case.
Fears remain that the holiday, when hundreds of millions of people travel across China, could catalyses a further spread of the virus and knock-on market headwinds.
“The fact the virus has spread to Singapore, an overly scrutinized customs entry point, suggests the best window for controlling the infection may have passed,” Innes said. “Traders remain incredibly twitchy about the effects the Coronavirus outbreak could have on Chinese GDP and air travel more broadly,” he added.
However, New York maintained a positive sentiment regarding the global equities on Thursday upon WHO confirmation the situation has not been declared as a global emergency yet.
