Hong Kong / London (CNN Business) Global stock markets plummeted for a seventh consecutive day on Friday as the coronavirus continued to spread, increasing fears that the epidemic will wipe out corporate profits and push some of the world's biggest economies into recession.

Shanghai Composite SHCOMP the week to 5.6%, the index's worst performance since April 2019. Japan's Nikkei N225 China'sclosed down 3.7%, bringing losses forthe week to 5.6%, the index's worst performance since April 2019. Japan'sended down 3.7% and benchmark indexes in Australia and South Korea both shed 3.3%.

DAX DAX FTSE 100 UKX European stocks matched those losses, with Germany'sdropping 3.9% and London'sshedding 3.4%. In Italy, where 17 people have now died as a result of the virus, the benchmark FTSE MIB index gave up 3.6%.

US stocks were also sharply lower Friday. The Dow declined 950 points, or 3.7%. The S&P 500, the broadest measure of the stock market, was down 3.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6%.

Taken together, global stocks are on track for their worst week since the global financial crisis. The MSCI index, which tracks shares in many of the world's biggest companies, has fallen 8.9% — its worst percentage decline since October 2008.

Read More