Attention will be on central banks' actions amid outbreak jitters

Published Sun, Mar 1, 2020 · 09:50 PM

THE physical contagion of the novel coronavirus has reached the stock market as the psychological contagion of fear. It's not clear, however, when a cure for either will surface.

Should a US outbreak prove widespread or should the World Health Organization (WHO) designate Covid-19 a global pandemic, the selloff could become even more virulent this week, bringing bear-market territory within sight.

US stocks plunged last week, and the Standard & Poor's 500 saw one of its quickest 10 per cent retreats into correction territory, coming 11 per cent off a record high in a mere six sessions.

It was the biggest we…