NEW YORK, Feb 21 — Wall Street continued to tumble today, with investors seen as hesitant to hold onto shares amid fears the new coronavirus outbreak in China could harm the global economy.

More than 2,200 people have died from the disease in China, which has infected more than 75,000 people there and over 1,000 abroad.

Countries have cut flights and shut borders with the world’s second-largest economy, while some businesses have shuttered or slowed operations in China.

Traders had pushed markets to record levels in recent sessions as fears about a significant economic hit from the virus eased, but that resolve cracked yesterday when the three main indices finished down.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled another 1.0 per cent to 28,932.10 after about 30 minutes of trading.

The broad-based S&P 500 also lost 1.0 per cent to 3,338.94, and the tech-rich Nasdaq dropped 1.4 per cent to 9,617.40.

Analysts at Wells Fargo put the blame for the sell-off squarely on the virus.

An increase in the number of new cases outside China "may be suggesting a wider regional epidemic, particularly in Japan and South Korea,” analysts wrote.

Stocks most battered in the decline were Microsoft, falling 2.3 per cent, and Chevron, which dropped 1.8 per cent.

Tech stocks were also not immune: Facebook fell 1.3 per cent, Amazon 1.7 per cent, Google-parent Alphabet 1.0 per cent and Apple, which said earlier in the week it would miss its quarterly earnings because of the virus, fell 1.0 per cent.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida was upbeat about the US economy in comments yesterday, highlighting the "solid fundamentals.”

And recent regional business surveys show companies more optimistic about their prospects, with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s manufacturing index jumping to a three-year high.

But Clarida also warned the virus, could have a "noticeable impact on Chinese growth,” and if supply chains are disrupted by the outbreak, "that can show up in terms of inputs to the US economy.” — AFP