Asian economies suffer from Corona ... Chinese stocks are falling, Japanese is losing and Seoul expects the worst

On Monday, the continental exchanges of China closed down more than 7% in the worst daily decline since the summer of 2005, in markets dominated by the spread of the new Corona virus, and Japanese stocks closed down following the massive selling wave in Chinese stocks.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange index fell 7.72%, while the money market in Shenzhen (the second continental exchange in China) fell 8.41%, in their first session after a long pause due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

Fears of the spread of the virus and its economic impact caused a wave of selling in the first trading sessions in the Chinese stock market, causing the main index to lose $ 420 billion today.

The value of the yuan hit its lowest level in 2020 at the start of trading, and decreased by 1.2%, exceeding the level of seven yuan for the dollar of symbolic importance, and those declines caused an atmosphere of concern in the Asian markets in general.

The two exchanges were supposed to return to work on Friday, but Beijing decided to extend their holiday three days to give itself more time to better fight the virus.

During the holiday, global stock indices were accumulating losses due to investor fears of the potential consequences of the epidemic for growth in China, the world's second largest economy.

The Chinese authorities announced that the number of people infected with the virus has exceeded 17,000, while the number of deaths resulting from it exceeded 360 as of Sunday evening.

For its part, the Nikkei closed down 1.01%, and the decline in the market led the consumer products and IT companies.

Economists have already warned that the outbreak would weigh heavily on consumer spending, tourism and factory activities in the world's second largest economy, which would in turn affect Japan, for which China is one of its biggest export markets.

Meanwhile, the Chinese central bank announced several measures over the weekend, aimed at stabilizing the economy, which is feared to slow under the influence of quarantine and cancel flights.

On Sunday, the People's Bank of China said it would pump 1.2 trillion yuan ($ 173 billion) into the economy to maintain liquidity.

Slowing economy
The new Corona virus first appeared in Wuhan, central China, at a seafood market said to have sold exotic animals for consumption, and by Sunday, the death toll from the virus had exceeded 361 people.

In Asia, too, South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam Ki predicted today that the rapid spread of the new Coronavirus will affect the South Korean economy, unless it is contained quickly.

Hong said in a meeting with ministers related to the economy, the new Coruna virus has had a limited impact on the Korean economy so far, but "there is a high possibility that this situation will slow down the Chinese economy, in which case it will have a negative impact on the global economy." In South Korea, there are 15 confirmed cases of HIV infection.