Chinese stocks crash as viral panic infects markets

Chinese stocks collapsed Monday with Shanghai's index posting its biggest single-day drop since 2015 -- and hundreds of firms plunging the maximum 10 percent -- as panic set in over China's coronavirus epidemic.

Monday was the first time in more than a week that Chinese investors were able to react to a viral outbreak that has now killed more people than the 2002-03 SARS outbreak, and they sold frantically.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 7.72 percent, or 229.92 points, to close at 2,746.61, and the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 8.41 percent, or 147.81 points, to 1,609.00.

However, Hong Kong finished up 0.17 percent, or 44.35 points, at 26,356.98 on bargain-buying after last week's steep losses.

The scale of the plunge in China was remarkable even by the standards of the country's notoriously volatile markets, indicating deep concern over the economic impact of the epidemic.