Shanghai Composite index plunges 8.7% as market reopens

BANGKOK (AP) — China's Shanghai Composite index plunged 8.7% as financial markets reopened Monday amid news the outbreak of a deadly virus has spread further.

Other markets also fell sharply, with Taiwan's benchmark down 2.8%. The declines followed a day of bloodletting on Wall Street.

Chinese authorities reported the number of people infected by the virus first found in Wuhan has risen above 17,000 as of Sunday night. The virus has killed more than 360 people, all but one in China.

After nosediving on the open, the Shanghai Composite was down 7.4% at 2,755.49, perhaps reflecting intervention by regulators who indicated over the weekend they were prepared to act to steady the markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 1% to 22,971.13, while the S&P ASX/200 declined 1.6% to 6,902.10. In South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.6% to 2,105.46. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.3% to 26,370.78.

“Sentiments remain very fragile as markets dynamically try to get a sense of when containment will catch up with contagion," Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

China's central bank announced plans Sunday to inject 1.2 trillion yuan ($173 billion) into the economy to cushion the shock to financial markets from the outbreak of a new virus when trading resumed. The Lunar New Year holiday, usually a week long, was prolonged by three days as a precaution.

The People's Bank of China announced several measures over the weekend aimed at stabilizing the economy as the impact of the virus spreads with cancelled flights, stepped up quarantines and other controls.

Worries over the potential harm to businesses and trade from the outbreak have triggered wide swings in share prices around the globe.

The central bank statement issued Sunday said the open market operation was aimed at ensuring...