'The worst is yet to come': Global stocks plummet as fears mount of a coronavirus pandemic

The flu-like illness has infected more than 80,000 people, killed at least 2,700, and spread to around 40 countries.
"It's not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen," Dr Nancy Messonier, a US federal health director, said about the prospect of a domestic outbreak.
"Despite this week's big selloff in equity markets, the worst is yet to come," economist Nouriel Roubini wrote in a Financial Times column .
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Global stocks tumbled on Wednesday as fears of the novel coronavirus escalating into a worldwide pandemic rattled markets.

The virus which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and causes a flu-like disease called COVID-19 has infected more than 80,000 people , killed at least 2,700, and spread to around 40 countries.

South Korea has reported more than 1,200 cases , and a growing number of European nations are dealing with infections. A Brazilian patient has also tested positive for coronavirus, according to the BBC , suggesting the virus has spread to South America.

While the US is yet to suffer a major outbreak, federal health officials warned on Tuesday that it's inevitable.

"It's not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen," Dr Nancy Messonier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a news briefing .

The White House has struck a different tone. President Donald Trump said the virus was "very well under control in our country."

Trump's economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, also downplayed the problem. "We have contained this," he said . "I won't say airtight, but it's pretty close to airtight."

Here's the market roundup as of 10:07 a.m. in London (5:07 a.m. in New York):

European equities dropped with Germany's DAX down 1.6%, Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.8%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 down 1.2%.
Asian indexes closed in the red with China's Shanghai Composite down 0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.7%, and Japan's Nikkei down 0.8%.
US stocks are set to open lower. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average , S&P 500 , and Nasdaq slid between 0.2% and 0.5%.
Oil prices dropped with West Texas Intermediate down 1.3% at $49.30 a barrel, and Brent crude down 1.6% at $53.40.

The declines came after companies including alcohol giant Diageo and food-and-beverage titan Danone warned that coronavirus is hurting their businesses. The Dow and S&P 500 posted their worst two-day declines since February 2019 on Monday and Tuesday, and the Dow also slumped to its lowest level since October.

Several commentators sounded the coronavirus alarm following the selloff.

"Markets have finally woken up to the threats being presented by COVID-19," Michael Every, a senior Asia-Pacific strategist at RaboResearch, said in a morning note.

"Investors are deluding themselves about how severe the coronavirus outbreak will be," economist Nouriel Roubini wrote in a Financial Times column . "Despite this week's big selloff in equity markets, the worst is yet to come."

The one-two punch of a US-China trade war and a public health crisis could hammer economic growth in China and elsewhere, said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a morning note.

"The two global headwinds to strike China in such short order could do the unthinkable and put the global economy into recession," he wrote.

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