Asian shares tumble: SKorea’s Kospi drops 7%, Tokyo 1%
BANGKOK — Shares in Asia tumbled further on Thursday after the Dow industrials plunged 6.3% despite more government help for economies reeling from virus outbreaks.
Stocks fell in Tokyo and almost all other Asian markets as investors rushed to convert holdings to cash, bracing for a prolonged coronavirus-induced recession.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gave up 1.0% to 16,552,83, while in South Korea, the Kospi sank 7.5% to 1,471.61. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 2.6% to 21,709.40, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.9% to 2,704.89.
Australia’s S&P ASX/200 declined 3.4% to 4,7982.90 after the central bank announced it was cutting its policy rate by 0.25 percentage point to a record low 0.25%, among other measures.