Fears over the coronavirus triggered a sharp fall in Chinese shares when the market reopened after the Lunar New Year holiday. The Shanghai Composite index closed nearly 8% lower, its biggest daily drop for more than four years. Manufacturing, materials, and consumer goods companies were among the hardest hit, while healthcare shares soared. The fall came despite China’s central bank announcing new measures to ease the impact of the outbreak. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) unexpectedly lowered short term interest rates as part of its attempts to relieve pressure on the economy from the rapidly spreading virus.