Australian shares closed lower for the fourth straight session on Thursday as sentiment remained fragile following the rapid spread of the coronavirus, with the country kicking off emergency measures to contain the outbreak.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> slipped 0.8%, or 50.20 points, to 6,657.90 at the close of trade. The benchmark has tumbled 6.7% this week through Thursday's close, wiping out about A$152 billion ($100.26 billion) in companies' market value.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday became one of the world's first leaders to acknowledge the threat of the virus spreading beyond global containment efforts.
"We believe the risk of a global pandemic is very much upon us," Morrison told a news conference in Canberra.
Australia has reported 23 cases of coronavirus, although 15 - all of whom arrived from China - have now been discharged from hospital.
The impact on local businesses has also been extensive with the epidemic prompting firms to cut over $500 million from profit forecasts in the current financial year, according to a Reuters analysis.
The heavyweight financial stocks <.AXFJ> weighed on the benchmark on Thursday, extending a four-day losing streak that also marked the lowest close since early January.
Shares of the "Big Four" banks declined between 1.4% and 2.1%, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> falling the most.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> declined 2%, as oil prices plunged to their lowest since January 2019. Shares of Worley Ltd <WOR.AX> dropped 2.8%, while those of Oil Search <OSH.AX> fell 2.9%.
Healthcare stocks <.AXHJ> were a bright spot. Benchmark heavyweight CSL Ltd <CSL.AX> gained 2.2%, snapping a five-day losing streak.
Gold stocks <.AXGD> rose 1.9% as virus fears boosted demand for the precious metal, with the country's biggest independent gold miner, Newcrest Mining <NCM.AX>, gaining 1.3%.
Shares of Northern Star Resources <NST.AX> rose 3%.
Separately, shares of Afterpay Ltd <APT.AX> closed 1.4% up after a choppy session. The buy-now-pay-later firm reported a bigger-than-expected half-yearly loss, but recorded a five-fold jump in U.S. underlying sales.
Meanwhile, Malaysia licence win helped earths explorer Lynas Corp <LYC.AX> snap three sessions of losses and climb 5%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell 0.8%, or 96.69 points, to finish the session at 11,437.17.
Shares of Fletcher Building <FBU.NZ> shed 2.6%, while those of Air New Zealand <AIR.NZ> slipped 1.3%.
(Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
