BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks tumbled on Wednesday to extend recent losses as the spread of the coronavirus continued to rattle investors.
Five European countries have reported cases linked to Italy, while new cases soared in South Korea, with an American soldier in the country becoming the first U.S. serviceman to be infected.
A World Health Organization expert has warned that countries outside China are 'simply not ready' for a pandemic.
The benchmark DAX was down as much as 345 points, or 2.7 percent, at 12,439 after declining 1.9 percent on Tuesday.
Aareal Bank tumbled 3.3 percent after its preliminary 2019 consolidated net income allocated to ordinary shareholders declined 30 percent to 145 million euros from 208 million euros in the prior year.
Deutsche Lufthansa shares slumped 4 percent. The airline said it would freeze new hires and use unpaid leave and additional short-time work to counter the business impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
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