European stocks dive 3% as coronavirus raises recession fears

(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window)

Feb 28 (Reuters) - European shares dove 3% on Friday, sliding deeper into correction territory, as investors feared a global recession is on the horizon with the coronavirus spreading across the world.

The pan-regional STOXX 600 was on track to record its biggest weekly decline since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008.

The index entered correction levels on Thursday, a 10% decline from its recent peak, along with markets in the United States and Asia.

Four more countries reported the first cases of coronavirus, pushing the number of countries outside China, the source of the outbreak with infections, to 55.

The death toll in Italy, Europe's worst-hit country, rose to 17 and the number of people infected rose by more than 200 to 655.

Among the major sectors, miners, travel & leisure stocks and technology were the biggest decliners, down between 3.8% and 4.1% (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)