World share prices fall as authorities battle coronavirus outbreak 

World shares fell today as health authorities rushed to monitor and contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China and keep it from spreading globally.

China and other nations have ramped up screenings for fever on aircraft and at airports. The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is concentrated, closed down its train station and airport on Thursday to prevent people from entering or leaving the city.

Adding to concerns, the outbreak coincides with the annual travel of hundreds of millions of Chinese for the Lunar New Year festival, which begins Friday.

As concerns over the crisis grew today, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.1% to 6,003 while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.5% to 13,454. 

Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.4% to 7,544. Wall Street futures edged lower, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.2%. 

Medical staff of Union Hospital attend a ceremony to form a ‘assault team’ in the fight against the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province 

In Asia, early gains were erased midsession, with Chinese benchmarks leading losses.

The coronavirus has been confirmed in five countries, including China, the U.S., Thailand, Japan and South Korea. So far, China has confirmed more than 500 people have fallen sick and 17 have died from the illness, which can cause pneumonia and other severe respiratory symptoms.

A World Health Organisation committee was scheduled to meet for a second day Thursday as it decides whether to declare China’s virus outbreak a global health emergency.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index skidded 1% to 23,795.44, while the Kospi in South Korea sank 0.9% to 2,246.13. 

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 1.5% to 27,909.12, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 2.8% to 2,976.53. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 shed 0.6% to 7,088.00. Shares rose in India and Jakarta but fell in Taiwan and Singapore.

‘As far as the market is concerned, the current reaction remains mild and perhaps rightly so given the difficulty to estimate the impact of an evolving syndrome,’ Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary. 

By postponing a decision on whether the virus is a global health emergency, the WHO helped assuage some fears the crisis is escalating, she said.

This picture released by the Central Hospital of Wuhan shows a medic donning full-body hazardous material suit looking after one patient who has been infected by the deadly virus

This picture released by the Central Hospital of Wuhan shows a medic donning full-body hazardous material suit looking after one patient who has been infected by the deadly virus

In other news, Japan reported Thursday that its trade balance was negative in 2019 for a second straight year, as China-U.S. trade tensions and friction with neighboring South Korea bit into exports.

Benchmark crude oil fell $1.03 to $55.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.64 to settle at $56.74 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gave up $1.02 as well, to $62.19 per barrel. It slid $1.38 to close at $63.21 a barrel overnight.

World shares fell Thursday as health authorities around the world rushed to monitor and contain a deadly virus outbreak in China and keep it from spreading globally.

China and other nations have ramped up screenings for fever on aircraft and at airports. The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is concentrated, closed down its train station and airport Thursday to prevent people from entering or leaving the city.

Adding to concerns, the outbreak coincides with the annual travel of hundreds of millions of Chinese for the Lunar New Year festival, which begins Friday.

In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.1% to 6,003 while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.5% to 13,454. Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.4% to 7,544. Wall Street futures edged lower, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.2%.

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have originated and all 17 deaths have happened, is now on lockdown and residents have been told not to leave the city unless in an emergency (Pictured: People shopping in Wuhan today, January 23)

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have originated and all 17 deaths have happened, is now on lockdown and residents have been told not to leave the city unless in an emergency (Pictured: People shopping in Wuhan today, January 23)

In Asia, early gains were erased midsession, with Chinese benchmarks leading losses.

The coronavirus has been confirmed in five countries, including China, the U.S., Thailand, Japan and South Korea. So far, China has confirmed more than 500 people have fallen sick and 17 have died from the illness, which can cause pneumonia and other severe respiratory symptoms.

A World Health Organisation committee was scheduled to meet for a second day Thursday as it decides whether to declare China’s virus outbreak a global health emergency.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index skidded 1% to 23,795.44, while the Kospi in South Korea sank 0.9% to 2,246.13. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dropped 1.5% to 27,909.12, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 2.8% to 2,976.53. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 shed 0.6% to 7,088.00. Shares rose in India and Jakarta but fell in Taiwan and Singapore.

Pictured: People wearing masks as they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday

Pictured: People wearing masks as they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday

‘As far as the market is concerned, the current reaction remains mild and perhaps rightly so given the difficulty to estimate the impact of an evolving syndrome,’ Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary. By postponing a decision on whether the virus is a global health emergency, the WHO helped assuage some fears the crisis is escalating, she said.

In other news, Japan reported Thursday that its trade balance was negative in 2019 for a second straight year, as China-U.S. trade tensions and friction with neighboring South Korea bit into exports.

Benchmark crude oil fell $1.03 to $55.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost $1.64 to settle at $56.74 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gave up $1.02 as well, to $62.19 per barrel. It slid $1.38 to close at $63.21 a barrel overnight.

The dollar fell to 109.54 Japanese yen from 109.83 yen on Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1091 from $1.1097.

The dollar fell to 109.54 Japanese yen from 109.83 yen on Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.1091 from $1.1097.

WHAT IS THE NEW CORONAVIRUS SPREADING OUT OF CHINA?

An outbreak of pneumonia-like illnesses began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. 

Its symptoms are typically a fever, cough and trouble breathing, but some patients have developed pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening infection that causes inflammation of the small air sacs in the lungs. 

Scientists in China recognized its similarity to two viruses that turned into global killers: SARS and MERS. 

SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome is caused by the SARS coronavirus, known as SARS Co, and first emerged in China in 2002. 

By the end of the outbreak, the virus had spread to several other Asian countries as well as the UK and Canada, killing 774. 

MERS, or Middle East respirator syndrome originated in the region for which it’s named, ultimately killed 787 people and belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as SARS. 

The new virus wasn’t a match for either of those two, but it did belong to the same coronavirus family. 

Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, and most cause mild respiratory infections – i.e. the common cold. 

But because the SARS and MERS proved deadly, the emergence of another new coronavirus has health officials on edge around the world. 

Like its two dangerous cousins, the new coronavirus appears to have originated with animals – particularly seafood, chickens, bats, marmots – found at a Wuhan market that’s been identified as the epicenter of the outbreak.  

The symptoms of SARS, which may be similar to those of the new coronavirus, include:

  • a high temperature (fever)
  • extreme tiredness (fatigue)
  • headaches
  • chills
  • muscle pain
  • loss of appetite
  • diarrhea

After these symptoms, the infection will begin to affect your lungs and airways (respiratory system), leading to additional symptoms, such as:

  • a dry cough
  • breathing difficulties
  • an increasing lack of oxygen in the blood, which can be fatal in the most severe cases

 So far, there isn’t a treatment for the new virus or SARS, though the new virus has been sequenced, allowing for rapid diagnostics. 

 

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