MOST stock markets in Asia, including Singapore, tumbled on Monday amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, led by a sharp sell-off in China.

Coming back from an extended Lunar New Year break, Chinese shares fell more than 7 per cent despite the People's Bank of China's pledge overnight to inject liquidity into the markets to shore up sentiment.

"Expectations remain that more could be done in the coming sessions should the support fail to arrest the volatility," said IG market strategist Pan Jingyi.

In Singapore, stocks fell steadily throughout the session, with the Straits Times Index down as much as 1.26 per cent in its final hour of trading.

The benchmark eventually closed down 1.19 per cent or 37.42 points to 3,116.31, weighed down by financial and real estate stocks.

Decliners led advancers 374 to 112, with about 1.96 billion securities worth S$1.34 billion changing hands.

Shares of the three local banks closed firmly in the red on Monday, with DBS and UOB among the bourse's top five decliners.

DBS fell 1.85 per cent or S$0.47 to close at S$24.90, while UOB lost 1.40 per cent or S$0.36 to end at S$25.30. Shares of OCBC Bank also slumped 1.11 per cent or S$0.12 to S$10.71.

Among real estate plays, index constituents CapitaLand Commercial Trust slid 0.97 per cent or S$0.02 to S$2.04, while CapitaLand closed at S$3.55, down 1.93 per cent or S$0.07.