Major Asian markets fall more than 2% to cap week of market gyrations

Asian stocks dropped on Friday as volatility continued to grip the markets amid investor concerns over the global coronavirus outbreak.

Japanese stocks were among the biggest losers regionally as the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.72% to close at 20,749.75, with shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group plunging 6.07%. The Topix index fell 2.92% to end its trading day at 1,471.46.

South Korea’s Kospi also shed 2.16% to close at 2,040.22. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slipped more than 2%, as of its final hour of trading.

Mainland Chinese stocks edged lower in afternoon trade, with the Shanghai composite down 1.21% to about 3,034.51 and the Shenzhen component shedding 1.1% to 11,582.82. The Shenzhen composite also slipped 0.74% to approximately 1,915.17.