Asian shares mixed after Dow drops more than 1,000 points

Shares were mixed in Asia on Tuesday after Wall Street suffered its worst session in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping more than 1,000 points on fears that a viral outbreak that began in China will weaken the world economy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 3.3%, to 22,605.41 after it reopened from a holiday on Monday and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a nationwide effort in containing an escalation in the spread of the coronavirus.

Measures taken in coming weeks would determine if Japan can keep the virus under control, Abe said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher, to 26,856.68 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.7% to 3,009.51. In Australia, the S&P ASX/200 shed 1.6% to 6,866.60.

South Korea's Kospi rebounded from a steep loss on Monday, adding 1.2% to 2,103.61. Shares also rose in Singapore but fell elsewhere in the region.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main benchmark dropped 2.7% amid a political upheaval after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad offered his resignation to Malaysia's king while his political party quit the ruling alliance.

Overnight on Wall Street, traders sought safety in U.S. government bonds, gold and high-dividend stocks like utilities and real estate. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to the lowest level in more than three years.

Technology companies, whose supply chains have been disrupted, accounted for much of the broad market slide, which wiped out all of the Dow’s and S&P 500’s gains for the year.

More than 79,000 people worldwide have been infected by the new coronavirus. China, where the virus originated, still has the majority of cases and deaths. The country's economy has been hardest hit as businesses and factories sit idle and people remain home-bound because the government has...