Nation's capital and region hit by coronavirus outbreak

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Luzerne County’s latest personnel report released

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets plunged Monday after global oil prices nosedived on worries a global economy weakened by a virus outbreak might be awash in too much crude.Tokyo's benchmark tumbled 6.2%, while Sydney fell 6.1%. Seoul sank 4.4% and Hong Kong lost 3.9%. Shares also sank in Middle East trading on Sunday. Markets already were troubled by the potential impact of the virus outbreak that began in China and has disrupted travel and trade.Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers are arguing over how much to cut output to prop up prices. U.S. crude fell 26% or $10.75 to $30.57 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used for international pricing, dropped 25%, or $11.40 to $33.87 per barrel. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell to 19473.07 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 3.8% to 25,134.73. The Shanghai Composite Index was off 2.2% at 2,967.31.The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney fell 6.1% to 5,840.70. The Kospi in Seoul lost 4.4% to 1,950.02.

Asian stocks plunge after fall in oil prices