Asia slumps 3% as the week wraps up

Asian stock indices opened the last session of the week sharply lower, plumbing four-month lows, after Wall Street marked the worst performance since August 2011 on coronavirus concerns, which might nudge global markets to the worst performance since the global financial crisis in 2008. 

Earlier Japanese data showed consumer prices rose 0.4%, while core prices climbed 0.5%, missing estimates of 0.6%. 

The unemployment rate rose to 2.4%, while retail sales climbed 0.6%, beating estimates of a 0.1% dip. 

Japanese industrial production rose 0.8%, beating estimates of 0.2%, while housing starts tumbled 10.1%. 

The Japanese government will ask schools to close doors from March 2 until the end of the month, to help contain the spread of coronavirus. 

South Korea just announced coronavirus cases rose to 2,000, while Italy announced over 600, and as Saudi Arabia stopped religious visits that attract millions to it. 

China's CSI 300 tumbled 3.14% to 3,956, while Shanghai swooned 3.04% to 2,900. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 2.61%, while South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 3.04% to 1,992. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 shed 3.96%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 3.08% to 6,453.