Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong, which account for the bulk of the region's stock value, rose. Seoul, Sydney and Southeast Asian markets retreated.Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox
Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index declined 0.7% to 3,799.61, breaking a four-day streak of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.3% to 31,008.69. The Nasdaq composite slid 1.3% to 13,036.43. The market's record-setting run means stocks and other investments are even more expensive, leaving critics to say they've gone too high.
The United States and other countries also face potentially more contagious types of the coronavirus. That is prompting governments to reimpose restrictions that disrupt travel and commerce.