Shares in Asia failed to hold onto opening gains on Thursday, skidding further after the latest selloff on Wall Street. Stocks fell in Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong and Seoul in early trading Thursday.
Investors are in search of cash as fears of a prolonged coronavirus-induced recession take hold. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gave up 0.7% to 16,5602.26, while in South Korea, the Kospi sank 6.5% to 1,487.85.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 4% to 21,397.56 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 1.9% to 2,676.79. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 declined 2.3% to 4,840.80.
Shares also fell in Southeast Asia. The losses followed a more than 1,300 point, or 6.3%, decline Wednesday in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has now lost nearly all of its gains