The stock exchange in Japan closed on Thursday considerably lower, following the strong loss on Wall Street.
US Central Bank President Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday about an extended period of weak economic growth due to the corona crisis and that more measures are likely to be needed to support the economy.
The other Asian stock markets also took a step back.
The leading Nikkei in Tokyo ended 1.7 percent in the minus at 19,914.78 points. Sony fell 3.9 percent. The Japanese technology group saw profit fall in the past quarter by three-quarters due to declining sales of electronics such as smartphones.
Sony did sell more PlayStation consoles because many people have to stay at home because of the virus outbreak. Takeda Pharmaceutical climbed 4.7 percent thanks to the pharmaceutical group’s better-than-expected results and outlook.
The stock market gauge in Shanghai was 0.7 percent lower in the meantime and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.3 percent. Tencent climbed 0.6 percent. The Chinese internet giant made more profit than expected last quarter.
Chinese consumers spent much more money on computer games during the lockdown. The use of social media such as Tencent’s WeChat service also increased considerably.
The Kospi in Seoul lost 1.2 percent. In Sydney, the All Ordinaries lost 1.4 percent.
In April, nearly 600,000 people were unemployed in Australia. That is the highest number in more than forty years. The Australian government expects unemployment in the country to rise to 10 percent in June.