Australian shares tumbled to their biggest loss of 2020 as concerns about the fallout on global growth from China's coronavirus outbreak sparked a rout of world stockmarkets.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 96 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 6994.5 points, making it the biggest one-day fall for the new year, while a flight to safety pushed the Australian 10-year bond yield below 1 per cent for the first time since October.