Global sharemarkets have continued to fall on fears about the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and its impact on global economic activity. The US Centre for Disease Control warned Americans to prepare for significant disruption to their day-to-day lives. White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow claimed that the US has contained the spread of the virus.
* In US economic data...
Global sharemarkets have continued to fall on fears about the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and its impact on global economic activity. The US Centre for Disease Control warned Americans to prepare for significant disruption to their day-to-day lives. White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow claimed that the US has contained the spread of the virus.
* In US economic data, the S&P/Case Shiller home price index was flat in December to be up 2.9% on the year (forecast 2.8%). Consumer confidence rose from 130.4 to 130.7 (forecast 132). The Richmond Federal Reserve manufacturing index fell from +20 points to minus 2 points in February (forecast +13). Chain store sales in the past week were up by 5.4% on a year ago, down from the 5.7% annual gain in the prior week.
* European sharemarkets fell by around 2% on Tuesday to 2-month lows on continued worries about the spread of COVID-19 infections outside China. Banks lost 2.6% and Insurance lost 2.2%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 1.8%. The German Dax lost 1.9%. The UK FTSE fell by 1.9%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto fell by 1.3% and BHP lost 1.6%.
* US sharemarkets fell by around 3% as investors monitored news on the COVID-19 coronavirus. All S&P 500 sectors were lower. With an hour of trade to go, the Dow Jones index was down by 785 points or 2.8% after being up 180 points at the start of trade. The S&P500 index was lower by 2.6% and the Nasdaq lost 210 points or 2.3%.
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