Virus fears ripple through global markets as selloff continues

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Hong Kong (CNN Business)The Wuhan coronavirus is continuing to cause pain for investors. 

Markets in South Korea and Japan fell on Tuesday, continuing a global selloff as the disease claims more lives and sickens people around the world. 

South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) plunged 3.3% Tuesday morning, its first day of trading after the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan's Nikkei 225 (N225), which did not close for the holiday, slumped 0.9%. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong remain closed for the holiday. 

 

 

"With coronavirus worries on the rise, the market continues to struggle with the unenviable task of factoring in absolute terms its implied economic devastation," wrote Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, in a research note Tuesday. 

"There remains a growing sense in the market that contagion levels could get worse before they get better," he added.

US markets closed down sharply overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Index (INDU) fell 454 points. The 1.6% drop was its worst one-day percentage loss since October. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) lost 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively, also recording their worst performances in months.

European markets also slid Monday. Great Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 (UKX) fell 2.3%, while Germany's DAX (DAX) dropped 2.7%.