A container ship from Singapore arrives at Dapukou container terminal at Ningbo Zhoushan Port, East China's Zhejiang Province on Tuesday, where the ship discharged 10,572 standard containers of cargo. The terminal has resumed operations while taking effective prevention measures against the coronavirus. Four international cargo ships arrived at the terminal on the same day. Photo: cnsphotos

China's stock market closed down around 1 percent on Friday, as a trade expert predicted the country's trade will likely drop 20 to 30 percent in the first two months of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak around the world.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 1.21 percent on Friday, while the Shenzhen Component Index was down 1.1 percent. China's NASDAQ-like, tech-heavy ChiNext board closed 0.75 percent lower.

Shares relevant to face masks and textiles led the growth, while cement, securities and telecommunications saw the most drop.

The Hang Seng Index slid 2.32 percent on Friday, led by property and energy sectors, while almost erasing the week's rise.

The trend came as the General Administration of Customs (GAC) was about to release combined trade data of January and February.

Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday that he predicted the figure is likely to drop 20 to 30 percent year-on-year, as firms didn't operate at their full capacity during most days of February due to labor shortages and disrupted logistics.

The GAC said on February 7 that it would combine the trade data of the first two months due to distortions created by the long Spring Festival holidays.

In the first two months of 2019, China's trade stood at 4.54 trillion yuan ($655.28 billion) in yuan-denominated value, up 0.7 percent year-on-year, data from the GAC showed.

Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce's International Market Research Institute, urged domestic trade firms to retain existing clients while ensuring that production capacity does not drop.

He called for importance to be attached to the business and production resumption in key areas - the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta.

"With foreign trade in the two areas guaranteed, China's standing in the global industrial chains will not be reverted," Bai told the Global Times on Friday.

During the week, China's stock market still outperformed Wall Street, which saw three major stock indexes slump more than 3 percent on Thursday trading.

Even after the US Federal Reserve's 50-basis-point rate cut to boost the economy, US 10-year treasury bonds tumbled to a record low of 0.75 percent as of 6 pm Friday (Beijing time), as risk aversion sentiments rose.