Coronavirus infects Asia stocks with exposure to China

Pedestrians wearing masks stand in front of a crosswalk at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

SYDNEY: Shares of companies highly exposed to China's economy tumbled across Asia on Tuesday on rising concern about the impact of global travel bans associated with a virus outbreak, and even as some stocks involved in preventative health spiked.

After the United States and Canada warned against travel to China, Australian stocks resumed trading sharply lower after a public holiday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.4% weighed by stocks exposed to the illness that has killed more than 100 people and infected more than 2,700.