ASX set to take another dive today as Wall Street plunges after health officials warn coronavirus outbreak will turn into a pandemic
- US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention issued dire coronavirus warning
- Deputy director Anne Schuchat told reporters virus would ’cause a pandemic’
- This caused Wall Street jitters with key share market indices plunging 3 per cent
The Australian share market has plunged again today after an American health official warned coronavirus was likely to be worse than first feared.
Since Friday, investors have lost $129billion.
The Australian Securities Exchange dived after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned the respiratory illness that originated in China would become a global problem.
‘Current global circumstances suggest it’s likely this virus will cause a pandemic,’ the agency’s principal deputy director Dr Anne Schuchat told reporters.
This prediction caused American shares to dive, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P500 both plunging by 3 per cent.
The Australian share market is set to plunge again today after an American health official warned coronavirus was likely to worse than first feared. Pictured is the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney
Wall Street dived after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dr Anne Schuchat (pictured) warned the respiratory illness that originated in China would become a global pandemic
Subsequently Australia’s SPI200 Futures contract, a pointer to the local share market, was 2.3 per cent weaker on Wednesday morning – diving by 160 points to 6,664 points.
The benchmark S&P/ASX finished 2.19 per cent, or 150.5 points, weaker at 6716.10 points.
CommSec market analyst James Tao said the coronavirus warning from the US was likely to cause another day of declines on the Australian share market.
‘Certainly plenty of negative sentiment at the moment,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
‘A lot of that is tied to the fact that the coronavirus outbreak does look like it is kind of starting to spread a lot more quickly outside of China.
‘This seems like it could be more long-term than what was initially estimated.’
CommSec market analyst James Tao said the coronavirus warning from the US was likely to cause another day of declines on the Australian share market. Pictured are people wearing masks in Tokyo following a series of infections in Japan
A bad performance on the Australian Securities Exchange would mark the fourth consecutive day of losses – after reaching a record high on Thursday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 plummeted by 1.8 per cent, or 126.7 points, to 6,851.6 points on Tuesday.
This saw $33billion wiped off shares by the close, after the market had earlier plunging by $53billion during morning trade.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday predicted coronavirus would hit the Australian economy as the contagion financially assaulted China – Australia’s biggest trading partner.
‘The message is very clear, the impact will be more significant than the bushfires, and it plays out more broadly across the Australian economy,’ he told reporters on Tuesday.
University of Queensland professor of economics John Quiggin last month estimated Australia’s summer bushfires could cost the economy $100billion.
Wall Street dived after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned the respiratory illness that originated in China would become a global problem. Pictured are paramedics in Hong Kong
That was before China announced the first cases of coronavirus in the city of Wuhan.
Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has infected 80,000 worldwide since it originated in December at an animal market in Wuhan.
This includes 22 people now in Australia, as of Tuesday night.
Then there are another seven Australians who flown from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama in Japan to a quarantine centre near Darwin.
Coronavirus has killed more than 2,600 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure, particularly among the elderly or frail.