Asia stocks mixed as coronavirus concerns weigh on sentiment;

Asia Stocks were mixed on Thursday as concerns over the scale of the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on sentiment.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.33% to close at 19,290.20 shares of robot maker Fanuc declined 2.68%. The Topix index dropped 0.82% to end its trading day at 1,422.24. South Korea’s Kospi closed flat at 1,857.07.

Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.31% to around 2,819.94 while the Shenzhen composite gained 0.476% to about 1,744.39. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.51%, as of its final hour of trading.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.92% to close at 5,416.30 as shares of major banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac declined.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index slipped 0.61%.