Coronavirus fear: Dalal Street slips 2.5%; Japan and China slide 3.5-4%

In Asia, Japanese stocks were among the biggest losers regionally as the Nikkei 225 plummeted 4.14 percent while the Topix index dropped 4.1 percent.

Mainland China stocks also tumbled, with the Shenzhen component falling 4.44 percent while the Shenzhen composite slipped 4.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite was down 3.37 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also dropped by 2.69 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 3.09 percent while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia plunged 3 percent.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index dropped 2.56 percent lower.

The rout in Asia is led by Wall Street ending with deep cuts with the S&P 500 losing 137.63 points or 4.42 percent, to 2,978.76, registering its largest percentage drop since August 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,190.95 points, or 4.42 percent, to 25,766.64 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 414.30 points, or 4.61 percent, to 8,566.48.

The Dow ended 12.8 percent below its February 12 record close and Nasdaq closed 12.7 percent under its February 19 closing peak.