Make Money

(BEIJING) — Asian stock markets plunged Monday after oil prices nosedived on worries a global economy weakened by a virus outbreak might be awash in too much crude.

Tokyo's benchmark tumbled 6.2%, while Sydney fell 6.1%. Seoul sank 4.4% and Hong Kong lost 3.9%. Shares also sank in Middle East trading on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers are arguing over how much to cut output to prop up prices.

Markets already were troubled by the potential impact of the virus outbreak that began in China and has disrupted travel and trade.

Anxiety rose after Italy announced it was isolating cities and towns with some 16 million people — or more than one quarter of its population.

Oil markets were roiled by a dispute among Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers over how much to cut output to prop up prices.

"The underlying global markets tone remains negative, as Italy has moved to quarantine one-quarter of its population," said Tai Hui of J.P. Morgan Asset Management in a report. Meanwhile, he said, "OPEC's cooperation with Russia to support oil prices appears to have hit a major roadblock."

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell to 19,473.07 after the government reported the economy contracted 7.1% in the October-December quarter, worse than the original estimate of a 6.3% decline in annual growth. That was before the viral outbreak slammed tourism and travel but after a sales tax hike dented consumers' appetite for spending.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank to 25,134.73. The Shanghai Composite Index was off 2.2% at 2,967.31.The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell to 5,840.70. The Kospi in Seoul declined to 1,950.02.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $10.77, or 26.1%, to $30.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $11.44, or 25.3%, to $33.83 per barrel in London.

The number of infections from the virus that causes COVID-19 has topped 100,000 worldwide.

Companies have been hit by sweeping anti-disease measures. Apple says slowdowns in manufacturing iPhones in China will hurt its sales totals. An airline industry group says carriers could lose as much as $113 billion in potential ticket sales.

Adding to pessimism, China reported Saturday that its exports fell 17% and imports were off 4% from a year earlier in January and February after Beijing shut factories, offices and shops in the most severe anti-disease measures ever imposed.

Central banks worldwide have cut interest rates. But economists warn that while that might help to encourage consumer and corporate spending, it cannot reopen factories that are due to quarantines or a lack of workers and raw materials.

Investors are looking ahead to a meeting Thursday of the European Central Bank, which is widely expected to announce new stimulus measures.

Chinese factories that make the world's smartphones, toys and other consumer goods are gradually reopening but aren't expected to return to normal production until at least April. That weighs on demand for imports of components and raw materials from China's Asian neighbors.

Already last week, global stocks were sinking as the spread of the coronavirus prompted governments to follow China's lead by imposing travel controls and canceling public events.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency 0.5% cut in its key lending rate failed to reverse the downturn.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, already at record lows, has dropped to 0.51% from 0.7% late Friday.

The yield — the difference between a bond's market price and what investors will receive if they hold it to maturity — is an indicator of the market's outlook on the economy. Rising market prices that cause the yield to narrow indicate investors are shifting money into bonds as a safe haven.

"Global recession risks have risen," said Moody's Investors Service in a report. "A sustained pullback in consumption, coupled with extended closures of businesses, would hurt earnings, drive layoffs and weigh on sentiment."

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.7% on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1% and the Nasdaq composite, which has a large share of technology companies, fell 1.9%.