Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, on Jan. 8, 2020. Photo:Xinhua

An uptick in mainland shares on Monday turned into an across-the-board stampede Tuesday amid the coronavirus outbreak which is spreading to more cities including Beijing and Shanghai. The Shenzhen Component Index and the tech-heavy ChiNext index tumbled too. The novel coronavirus pneumonia was initially diagnosed in Wuhan City in Central China's Hubei Province, a transportation hub.

Stocks of influenza treatment and facial mask makers witnessed a steep price rise, while shares of other sectors, including aviation, tourism and liquor, struggled. 

The Hong Kong stock market was also swooned, with the Hang Seng Index plunging 2.7 percent, or 776.06 points, to end at 28,019.85 points Tuesday.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory system physician and head of a high-level experts team at the National Health Commission said Monday that it took them only two weeks to pinpoint the novel coronavirus. This, plus a sound monitoring and quarantine regime of China, will substantiate public confidence to control the virus. Zhong said any economic loss will also be limited, in contrast to the SARS epidemic of 2003, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In another sign of optimism, the IMF released its newest projections for the global economy on Monday, which ratcheted up China's growth target by 0.2 percentage points to 6 percent for 2020, citing the phase one trade deal China and US inked on January 15, which the fund believes will partially offset the risks facing the economy.