Asian Stocks Fall as Virus Fears Spook Markets, Hit Tourism
(WorldNews Japan)

Shares tumbled Monday in the few Asian markets open as China announced sharp increases in the number of people affected in an outbreak of a potentially deadly virus. Many regional markets, including China’s, were closed in Asia for Lunar New Year holidays. Australia was closed for Australia Day. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index sank 2% to 23,343.51. India’s Sensex lost 0.4% to 41,451.37, while the benchmark in Thailand dropped 2.9%. Indonesia’s share benchmark was 1.4% lower. China announced it was extending its week-long public holiday by an extra three days as a precaution against having the virus spread still further. By midnight Sunday, the National Health...