March 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares were set to decline on Monday, possibly extending their six-day rout, after dismal Chinese manufacturing data painted a grim picture of the massive potential damage to the global economy from the coronavirus.
In the first proper glimpse of the virus' impact, official data released on Saturday showed China's factory activity contracted to a record low in February as widespread containment measures paralysed economic activity. share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.6%, a 107.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close.
The benchmark lost 9.8% last week, its biggest decline since the 2008 global financial crisis, after entering into correction territory on Friday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell as much as 3% at open to a more than three-month low.