Asian shares wilt, oil tumbles as China virus spreads

Asian shares and US stocks fell on Thursday as investors remained anxious about the spread of a new flu-like virus in China just as millions prepared to travel for the Lunar New Year.

U.S. crude fell 1.69% to $55.78 a barrel, briefly touching the lowest since Dec. 3. Brent crude slumped by 1.55% to $62.26 per barrel to reach the lowest since Dec. 4.

Oil futures tumbled to seven-week lows as the contagion was expected to hit airline travel, while the International Energy Agency's warning of an oil surplus and a larger-than-expected increase in US crude inventories re-kindled fears of excess supply.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.45%. Blue chip Chinese shares slumped 0.91%. Australian shares were down 0.57%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 0.6%.

The Chinese yuan fell toward a two-week low, while safe-havens such as the Japanese yen, gold, and US Treasuries rose before a travel blockade of the Chinese city, Wuhan, at the centre of the outbreak starts later on Thursday.

The S&P 500 eked out a 0.03% gain on Wednesday, but the overall tone on Wall Street was mixed as investors assessed the impact of the virus and braced for the corporate earnings season.

The American Petroleum Institute said US crude inventories rose 1.6 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for 1 million-barrel draw.