Japan stocks fall on coronavirus warnings at home, abroad

By Stanley White
TOKYO, April 2 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell for a fourth
straight session on Thursday, as investors were spooked by
comments that the Asian country was on the verge of a
coronavirus crisis and by a warning from U.S. President Donald
Trump of a "painful" two weeks ahead.
The Nikkei index .N225 was down 0.49% to 17,977.62 by 0220
GMT, shedding 24% so far this year.
Experts warned on Wednesday that Japan was on the brink of a
crisis as virus cases rise relentlessly around the nation,
increasing the chance of lockdowns and other severe restrictions
on personal movement that will hurt economic activity.
Trump said, "We're going to have a couple of weeks, starting
pretty much now, but especially a few days from now, that are
going to be horrific."
More U.S. states are ordering residents to stay at home to
slow the virus' spread, pointing to a prolonged slowdown.
Weighing further on sentiment was data showing U.S.
manufacturing activity hit its weakest in 11 years last month,
revealing the full extent to which the pandemic was damaging
global growth. On Thursday, there were 43 advancers on the Nikkei index
against 181 decliners.
The biggest percentage losers in the index were consumer
credit company Credit Saison Co Ltd 8253.T , down 7.18%,
followed by department store operator J.Front Retailing Co Ltd
3086.T , losing 6.77%.
Subaru Corp 7270.T fell 6.38% after the auto maker said it
would suspend global production.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were car
manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.T , up 3.24%, followed by
parcel delivery firm Yamato Holdings Co Ltd 9064.T , gaining
3.1%, and non-life insurance company Sompo Holdings Inc
8630.T , up by 2.87%.
The broader TOPIX index .TOPX fell 0.92%.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.67 billion, compared to the average of
2.07 billion in the past 30 days.
The coronavirus, which emerged in China late last year, has
turned into a global pandemic that has claimed more than 40,000
lives and paralysed large swathes of the global economy.