Shares tumbled in Asia on Thursday as concern over the impact of the virus outbreak in China deepened. Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 1.7% to 22,977.75, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index skidded 2.2% to 26,555.96. In Australia, the S&P ASX/200 declined 0.4% to 7,008.40. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.9% to 2,144.05. Shares also retreated in India and Southeast Asia. Mainland Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, AP reported. Benchmark crude oil fell gave up 49 cents to $52.84 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 15 cents to settle at $53.33 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, declined 60 cents to $58.31 per barrel. It rose 30 cents to close at $59.81 a barrel overnight. Gold rose $7.60 cents to $1,578.00 per ounce. Silver rose 10 cents to $17.59 per ounce and copper fell 3 cents to $2.55 per pound. The dollar fell to 108.93 Japanese yen from 108.98 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1014 from $1.1008.
