Asia opens the week mixed

Asian stocks opened mixed with China, New Zealand, South Korea higher while Japan and Australia lost ground as investors assess the spread of the coronavirus and the official financial response.

Earlier Japanese data showed GDP down 1.6% in the fourth quarter, compared to a 0.4% growth rate in the third. 

China has also announced plans to cut the corporate tax and allow banks to operate more of the bad debt, while the People's Bank of China cut borrowing rates on some assets. 

Otherwise, Bloomberg estimates the Chinese economy was only working 40-50% of its capacity last week, with China announcing 2000 new cases with the coronavirus, with 100 dead. 

Japan's TOPEX fell 0.87% to 1,688, while Nikkei 225 shed 0.57% to 23,551. 

China's CSI 300 rallied 0.82%, while Shanghai climbed 0.96% to 2,915. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.62%, as South Korea's KOSPI edged up 0.22% to 2,248. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.29%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.12% to 7,121.