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· Asian share markets found some stability on Tuesday after a wave of early selling petered out and Wall Street futures managed a solid bounce, allowing investors to take a breather from coronavirus fears.

South Korea's hard-hit market .KS11 eked out a 0.6% rise and helped MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fight back to flat.

The risks were such that bond markets were wagering central banks would have to ride to the rescue with new stimulus.

· Japan’s Nikkei share average fell to a four-month low on Tuesday, as investors reduced their equity holdings on their first trade after a long weekend and as a spike in coronavirus cases beyond mainland China threatened the global economy.

The Nikkei share average tumbled 3.3% to 22,605.41, its biggest intraday drop in 14 months, and closed at its lowest since late October.

The index showed a catch-up reaction to falls in global stocks on Monday, when Japanese markets were closed for the emperor’s birthday celebrations.

The broader Topix declined 3.33% to 1,618.26, with 98% of the stocks on the main board in the red, the highest ratio in more than two years.

The coronavirus death toll climbed to seven in Italy on Monday and several Middle East countries were dealing with their first infections, feeding worries it could turn into a pandemic.

· Losses in China stocks, which ended lower on Tuesday, were capped as investors expected the coronavirus contagion outside China to have a limited impact on the Chinese market.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.6% at 3,013.05. The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.22%.

· European shares bounced back on Tuesday after recording their worst losses since June 2016 in the previous session, with investors assessing the economic hit of a coronavirus outbreak that has spread far beyond China.

Markets across the globe attempted to stabilize, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index rising 0.6%.