Coronavirus forces plunge in Chinese stock market as death toll rises
Chinese stock and commodity markets fell heavily as the death toll from a coronavirus epidemic in China rose to 361 today.
Investors retreated into safe-haven assets in the first trading session after an extended lunar new year break.
Markets plunged at the open in their first session since January the 23rd, when the outbreak of the newly identified virus had claimed only 17 lives in Wuhan city, the epicenter of the outbreak, in Hubei province.
The flu-like virus has been declared a global emergency and spread to more than two dozen other countries and regions, with the first death outside of China reported on Sunday.
The number of new confirmed infections in China rose by over 2000, bringing the total to 17,205.