Attention will be on central banks' actions amid outbreak jitters

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.