Daily Markets: As Coronavirus Expands, So Do Investors’ Worries
Investors are starting the week off with itchy fingers as they look to assess the growing impact of the coronavirus. As we write today’s Daily Markets note, roughly 2,800 people in China have been infected and 80 killed by the disease, and infections also reported in Europe and the US. In response, Hong Kong has shut its schools until Feb. 17 to help prevent the virus from spreading further and China has locked down 17 cities. Yesterday the US’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced another case in the US bringing the total to 5 but per the CDC there are more than 60 patients under investigation for possible infection in over 20 US states. One of the main concerns is how the outbreak will impact China’s Lunar New Year holiday season that spans Jan. 25- Feb. 8, but as the virus spreads so too are investor concerns over what the potential impact could be in other parts of the world and on the global economy. Also stoking investor worries, five Katyusha rockets were fired at the Green Zone in Baghdad last night, one directly hitting the U.S. Embassy building.
All of the above has given rise to a risk-off mood in equity markets today. In Asia, most markets are closed for the Lunar New Year, but Japan’s Nikkei…
Disclosures:
- Tenneco (TEN) is a constituent in Tematica Research’s Cleaner Living Index.
