TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is extending losses on Thursday from the previous session and the safe-haven yen strengthened following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street amid worries about the rising death toll related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Worries about the rising number of COVID-19 infections in Tokyo and uncertainty about the timing of a lockdown in the Japanese capital city also weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 312.36 points or 1.73 percent to 17,753.05, after touching a low of 17,707.66 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is down 0.2 percent, while Fast Retailing is losing more than 4 percent.
The major exporters are mostly lower on a stronger yen. Panasonic is lower by more than 2 percent, while Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are declining almost 2 percent each. Sony is adding 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is lower by 3 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent and Inpex is adding 0.2 percent as crude oil prices rebounded in Asian trading.
Among the other major gainers, Sompo Holdings is rising more than 3 percent and Kubota Corp. is higher by almost 3 percent. Yamato Holdings, NTT Docomo and Tokio Marine are advancing more than 2 percent each.
On the flip side, Credit Saison and Isuzu Motors are tumbling more than 7 percent each, while Tokyu Fudosan, J Front Retailing and Subaru Corp. are losing more than 5 percent each.
Subaru said Wednesday that it will halt all its global auto production for about three weeks due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan said that the monetary base in Japan was up 2.8 percent on year in March, coming in at 507.848 trillion yen. That follows the 3.6 increase in February.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 107 yen-range on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday amid renewed coronavirus concerns after White House officials warned of nearly a quarter million deaths from the pandemic. During a White House press conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump warned the U.S. is facing a 'very, very painful two weeks.' White House officials are now projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the U.S. as a result of the outbreak, which Trump previously sought to downplay.
The Dow plummeted 973.65 points or 4.4 percent to 20,943.51, the Nasdaq tumbled 339.52 points or 4.4 percent to 7,360.58 and the S&P 500 plunged 114.06 points or 4.4 percent to 2,470.50.
The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on Wednesday. The French CAC 40 Index plunged by 4.3 percent, while the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tanked by 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices drifted lower after early gains on Wednesday, as official data showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. rose for a tenth successive week. WTI crude for May ended down $0.17 or about 0.8 percent at $20.31 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX