* FTSE 100 down 1.4%, FTSE 250 drops 1.3%
* Airlines, travel stocks among worst performers
* Finablr shines on the midcap index
(Adds company news items, chart, updates share moves)
Jan 27 (Reuters) - UK shares dropped on Monday as the
coronavirus spread globally and caused more fear with death
tolls more than tripling from last week, while midcap
constituent payments group Finablr outperformed.
The FTSE 100 index, which had recovered on Friday
after the World Health Organisation issued a measured assessment
of the virus, stumbled 1.4% by 0839 GMT, set for its worst daily
performance since early December.
All but three stocks were in negative territory on the main
bourse in early dealings.
The midcaps were 1.3% lower, but Finablr helped contain some
losses as it jumped 7% after reassuring markets that it had
sought clarifications from BRS, an investment vehicle owned by
Shetty that pledged over half the company's stock as security
against certain debts.
Finablr, which had lost nearly one-third of its market value
due to Friday's fall, was headed for its best day since late
November.
News that China's death toll from the coronavirus discovered
at the end of last year has risen to 81 spooked investors and
dragged an index of leisure and airline stocks down
nearly 2% to its lowest since mid-December.
Nearly 5% has been wiped off the index since last week.
The sector is exposed to a slowdown in the travel market
because of the outbreak, with some standout individual losers
including British Airways owner IAG, which dropped 5%,
and China-exposed luxury brand Burberry, down 4.8%.
By the end of Sunday, 2,744 cases of the virus had been
recorded, with countries including the United States and
Singapore having confirmed the spread of the virus.
"This has the potential to really rattle markets. And with
stock markets having been at or very near all-time highs before
all this broke, this is a perfect selling opportunity,"
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson wrote.
"If politics is hard to grasp for most buysiders then
virology is impossible – that is enough reason to see de-risking
to happen; although I would still anticipate dips to be bought."
Sustained falls in travel-related bluechip stocks over the
last few trading sessions has left the main index with a 1% loss
so far this year.
(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)