Rapid progression of coronavirus sinks markets

The rapid increase in the list of affected countries and groups affected by the coronavirus was sinking the stock markets on Thursday (27), sweeping the stabilization of the previous day.

Tokyo set the tone with a drop of more than 2% in the face of growing threats to the organization of the Olympic Games.

And European markets, which have been hard hit since the beginning of the week, continued to fall. Around 6:45 am (Brasília time), Paris lost 1.50%; London, 1.50%; and Frankfurt, 1.53%.

“Yesterday, the European markets tried to stabilize”, but this morning the pressure started to rise again, and “the views of WHO (…) of the Pasteur Institute, in France, and of national authorities in general are the relevant information”, noted Tangi Le Liboux, strategist at broker Aurel BGC.

“In absolute terms, the number of infections remains low outside China and the number of victims of the coronavirus epidemic is insignificant compared to any seasonal flu. But common colds do not imply the closure of factories and the shutdown of economic activity. If the sources of infection multiply on the planet, the economic cost of this likely pandemic is likely to skyrocket, ”he added.

“The fear is that the coronavirus will become a threat worldwide and that containment measures will slow global growth. European companies interrupted their business trips and reduced their forecast of results ”, points out Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Even though American President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday night that a widespread spread of the new coronavirus in the United States is not inevitable, investors kept in mind, especially this morning, the inexorable extent of the virus by whole world.

Symbol of concern, Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrims from entering Mecca.

In the indexes, this news has again shaken sectors related to tourism.

"Easyjet's stock has lost 20% since the close of last Thursday, but that remains relative compared to the 38% lost by Norwegian Air," points out Hewson.

Investments in safe bonds are in full swing, starting with the debt of the strongest countries. Germany's ten-year loan rate fell sharply, as did that of the United States, which registered a new historical low of 1.2872%.