Japanese shares fell 1% on Thursday, weighed down by the rising death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China and fears over its potential impact on the world's second-largest economy.

The Nikkei share average was down 0.99% to 23,148.62 by 01:50 GMT, after a 0.7% gain in the previous session. The broader Topix index fell 0.87% to 1,685.19.

China's death toll from the new flu-like virus rose by 38 to 170 as of end-Wednesday and the number of infected patients increased by more than 1,700 to 7,711.

Japan and other countries are evacuating their citizens from the central Chinese city Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak that has spread to at least 15 other countries.

Source : Reuters