Investors at a stock exchange in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: VCG

More than 3,000 China-listed companies saw their market valuations shrink on Tuesday morning, as the mainland stock markets struggled to stand following an overnight global market bloodshed.

"An overseas stock tumble has had a spillover effect on the Chinese markets, but judging by the falling range of Chinese shares, the mainland markets have largely withstood the pressure from external markets," Li Daxiao, chief economist at Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities, told the Global Times. 

There have been market concerns over whether China's A-share markets would imitate the overnight nightmare of global markets, which saw some of the sharpest falls in years. On Monday, the US' Dow Jones and S&P 500 posted their sharpest daily declines since 2018, with the Dow shedding more than 1,000 points. Italy's Milan stock market also plunged nearly 6 percent. 

Overseas media has generally attributed the global market nosedive to the coronavirus spread, with countries like Italy and South Korea reporting surging infection numbers.

Influenced by external market falls, Chinese stock markets were stuck in the negative territory on Tuesday morning, with China's NASDAQ-like, tech-heavy ChiNext board at one point sinking more than 4 percent. 

However, the Chinese stock markets managed to narrow the declines approaching the end of the morning trading session. By close at 11:30 am, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index had sunk more than 60 points to 2,970.63 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index had slumped by 1.74 percent to 11,567.77 points. The ChiNext board rebounded after its heavy decline and closed down 1.96 percent.

More than 3,000 stocks fell, covering industries ranging from medical appliances to 5G and new-energy cars. Face mask shares rose by nearly 5 percent. 

According to Li, Chinese stock markets experienced the strongest blow from the coronavirus on February 3, when thousands of stocks dived to their trading limits. "Now that phase has gone, as Chinese people know that the coronavirus is already under control," Li said. 

He also anticipated that, although the coronavirus befell US and some European stock markets on Monday, the markets will also quickly recover after overseas governments ramp up efforts to battle the virus.

Yang Delong, chief economist at the First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times that US stocks risk touching their valuation ceilings this year after 10 years of bullish markets, but that will benefit A-share markets as capital is likely to shift from US to Chinese markets.