Asia opens mostly lower on coronavirus worries

Asian stock indices opened the fourth session of the week mixed but mostly lower, with Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand down, while South Korea eked out gains. 

Many countries have imposed national lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus, as the World's Health Organization reported 827,000 global cases so far in 205 countries and regions, with the death toll at 40,777. 

Japan's TOPEX fell 1.14%, while Nikkei 225 declined 0.85% to 17,911. 

China's CSI 300 inched down 0.06%, while Shanghai gave up 0.04% to 2,733. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.63%, while South Korea's KOSPI added 0.80% to 1,698. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 lost 1.82%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 2.14% to 5,146.