Australia’s sharemarket has felt the impacts of the coronavirus after taking a steep dive at the open. But it wasn’t as bad as expected.

The ASX 200 fell 2 per cent to a near two-month low of 6732 soon after the S&P 500 dived 3 per cent on COVID-19 concerns.

But some recovery has been made, with S&P 500 futures up 0.3 per cent in early trading, the S&P/ASX 200 stabilised after the initial fall.

(AAP Image/Peter Rae)

Sectors that are underperforming include technology, financial sector, energy, industrial, utilities, consumer staples and health care.

Woolworth’s also copped a blow after dropping 3.6 per cent on a disappoint start to the second half.

Afterpay and Xerox are both down more than 2 per cent in the tech sector.

(AAP Image/Derek Rose)