*** ----> Shares and oil tumble on coronavirus fears | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Shares and oil tumble on coronavirus fears

Worries over the continued spread of the coronavirus have hit the financial markets, with London's FTSE 100 share index dropping more than 2%.

Airlines and companies with significant sales in China saw some of the biggest share price falls.

The coronavirus has killed 81 people in China with almost 3,000 confirmed ill, while at least 44 cases have been confirmed abroad.

The price of oil also fell, with Brent crude dropping 3% to $58.65 a barrel.

Among the biggest share price declines was luxury clothes maker Burberry, which fell 5.5%. It makes about 16% of its sales in China, one of its fastest-growing markets, and has warned investors that a drop in Chinese spending could spell a decline in its own revenues.

Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group dropped 4.7%. It says China and Hong Kong are a "growing share of our business" and contributes 8% of the firm's profit.

British Airways owner IAG, which also contains Iberia, fell 5.6%, while HSBC Holdings, which takes most of its profit from Asia, fell 3.5%.

Shares across Europe saw similar declines, with the German Dax and French Cac 40 indexes both down by about 2%.