Tokyo (AFP)

Financial markets in Asia ended badly on Friday, a very difficult week, with the prospect of devastating consequences for the world economy from the coronavirus epidemic.

Stocks posted losses that should lead them to their worst week since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when the global economy experienced a recession.

There are signs to fear the worst, such as the level of the VIX volatility index (or "fear index"), the highest since 2011, when there was a public debt crisis in the euro area.

After the tumble of Wall Street Thursday (-4.42% for the Dow Jones, -4.61% for the Nasdaq), the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost more than 4% in the early afternoon.

"Japanese stocks inevitably take a hit after the rout of the US market," Toki Tokyo Research Institute analyst Seiichi Suzuki told AFP.

"As the US market was unusually strong before, once it took a turn, it was a big fall," he added.

- "Significant exposure" -

The analyst felt that it was impossible to predict how long the correction would last. "The lowest could be today or in a week (...). As for the spread of the virus, even the experts in contagious diseases do not know. How can market operators know?", he questioned.

The economic indicators of the day in Japan were also mixed. If industrial production rose 0.8% in one month in January, unemployment rose 0.2 point in December to 2.4%.

But more immediately, the country was taken aback by the announcement of the closure of schools for about a month, an abrupt measure that raises many questions, while the authorities have identified some 200 cases only.

In China, at 11:30 am local time (03:30 GMT), the Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.37% to 2,890.56 points.

At the same time, on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, second place in mainland China, the composite index fell 4.38% to 1,812.06 points. For its part, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Hang Seng index lost 2.91% to 25,999.13 points.

In Singapore, Seoul, Manila, Sydney or Wellington, the decline was close to or more than 2%.

According to Moody's Analytics, "the exposure of the Asia-Pacific region to the virus is considerable".

"China is the main trading partner for most of the region's economies, and with economic activity severely hampered by the virus, the repercussions will be felt in the rest of the region," the agency’s economists wrote. rating.

"There is hardly any other country in Asia or in the world to which so many economies across the region are so closely linked," they said.

© 2020 AFP