A private survey showed China's manufacturing activity slumped in February, as the coronavirus outbreak hit the world's second largest economy.

On Monday, the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 40.3 for February — the lowest reading since the survey was launched in early 2004.

"China's manufacturing economy was impacted by the epidemic last month," said Zhengsheng Zhong, chief economist at CEBM Group, a Caixin subsidiary. "The supply and demand sides both weakened, supply chains became stagnant, and there was a big backlog of previous orders," he said in a press release.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to come in at 45.7. January's reading came in at 51.1.

PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that level signal contraction.

The numbers come as China continues to grapple with the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2,900 people and infected at least 80,000 others in the mainland. The virus has spread to some 60 countries around the world, but most of those infected and died were from China.

The disease, formally known as COVID-19, has severely impacted business activity in the mainland as the government locked down cities for weeks and enforced wide-scale quarantines to contain its spread.

"Supply chains came to a standstill as businesses extended the Lunar New Year holiday and multiple local governments implemented restrictions on transportation and the movement of people in efforts to control the epidemic," said Zhong.

The gauge for new export orders remained in negative territory and slumped to its lowest point since January 2009, Zhong said.