[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] On the 9th, stock markets in major Asian countries faced a 'Black Monday' as fears of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the failure of oil-producing countries to agree on production cuts triggered an all-out oil price war.
Stock markets across major Asian countries, including South Korea, closed sharply lower.
South Korea's KOSPI index closed at 1,954.78, down 4.19% (85.44 points). The KOSDAQ index also closed at 614.58, down 4.38% (28.14 points).
China's Shanghai Composite Index was trading at 2,956.42, down 2.57% (78.09 points) as of 3:30 PM.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was trading at 25,142.25, down 3.84% (1,004.42 points).
On the same day, Taiwan's TAIEX closed at 10,977.64, down 3.04% (344.17 points).
Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed at 19,798.76, down 5.07% (1,050.99 points). The closing price breaking below the 20,000 mark is the first time in 1 year and 2 months since January 4, 2019 (19,561). The TOPIX index also closed at 1,388.97, down 5.61% (82.49 points), marking its lowest level in about 3 years and 4 months since November 11, 2016.
The TOPIX index had fallen more than 20% and briefly entered a bear market, but expectations of policy responses rose as a trilateral meeting among the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Agency, and the Bank of Japan was reported to be held that evening, which somewhat reduced the extent of the decline.
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