Worries around the new virus strain also saw investors look past an agreement over a $900 billion fiscal aid package in the United States that will be set to vote on Monday.
In a statement sent by a spokesman for owner London Stock Exchange Group, FTSE Russell said it will remove shares in companies including Hangzhou Hikvision, China Railway Construction Corp, and China Spacesat.
A slightly weaker pound also boosted shares of big dollar-earning consumer staple companies such as British American Tobacco Plc, Diageo Plc and Unilever Plc.