Tokyo — Factory activity contracted sharply across most of Asia in March as the coronavirus pandemic paralysed economic activity across the globe, with sharp falls in export powerhouses Japan and South Korea overshadowing a modest improvement in China.

Manufacturing gauges also tumbled in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, Purchasing Managers index (PMI) surveys showed on Wednesday, underscoring the widening damage brought by the pandemic that has infected more than 700,000 people, upended supply chains and led to city lockdowns worldwide...

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