European, Tokyo stocks slump as virus takes hold outside China

European and the Tokyo stock markets slumped once again on Thursday as new coronavirus infections surged outside China.

While the markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong both closed higher, Europe was a sea of red with London, Frankfurt, Paris and Italy all down around 2.0 per cent approaching the half-way mark.

Tokyo closed with a loss of 2.1 per cent.

Oil prices also tumbled more than two per cent, while the yen gained as traders turned to a traditional haven in times of economic turbulence.

"The stock market sell-off has picked up pace once more, with European markets... heavily in the red on continued fears of a global coronavirus pandemic," remarked Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading group.

"What was a centralised focus on Italian containment efforts has now turned into a European-wide crisis as new cases pop up throughout the continent."
Visiting staff at a Paris hospital where the first French person carrying the new coronavirus died on Tuesday, Macron added: "We are facing a crisis, an epidemic that is coming."