Chinese stocks tumbled as traders returned from an extended lunar new year holiday, with the CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed equities falling as much as 9.1 per cent on Monday to mark the worst opening in nearly 13 years.

The drop came despite the central bank pumping Rmb1.2tn ($171bn) in additional liquidity into the financial system — its biggest one-day open market operation since 2004 — to help cushion the blow of the country’s deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The benchmark index closed 7.9 per cent lower, marking its worst day since August 2015 and more than four-fifths of listed companies were down by the maximum 10 per cent daily limit, according to data provider Wind. The CSI 300’s fall wiped off about $358bn in stock market capitalisation, according to a Financial Times estimate based on Bloomberg data.