Asian shares declined Thursday on pessimism about life getting back to normal soon amid the coronavirus pandemic, even as Japan prepared to let businesses reopen in some regions.
Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 1.7% to 19,914.78. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.4% to 5,344.30. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.1% to 1,918.79.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 1.4% to 23,837.37, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.9% at 2,873.48. India's Sensex lost 2% to 31,367.40, while markets also fell in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
Stephen Innes, chief global strategist at AxiCorp, said markets were jittery after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which set off worries about the risks of corporate failure in the U.S.