Chinese stocks are off to a bad start this week as the country deals with its worst outbreak of COVID-19 in two years. Shares on both the mainland and the financial hub Hong Kong are down more than 2%. That's after the government reported more than 27,000 new coronavirus infections in one day. Factories have been forced to close because of the rising cases and investors fear officials will keep millions of people under lockdown, to curb the spread of the disease at the expense of consumer spending.

Business groups representing companies from the US and Europe that do business in China say extended lockdowns in major cities like Shanghai could have a lasting effect on the country's economic prospects.

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