LONDON / LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The number of people infected with a coronavirus worldwide exceeded 100,000 on Friday, as the epidemic reached more countries and economic damage intensified, business districts starting to drain and the stock markets to plummet.
A man is seen wearing a protective mask at Waterloo station in London, Britain, March 6, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls
An increasing number of people have been confronted with a new reality, as many have been asked to stay home to work, schools have been closed, large rallies and events have been canceled, stores have been cleared of basic items such as toiletries and water, and face masks have become common.
The epidemic has killed more than 3,400 people and spread to more than 90 countries, with six countries reporting their first cases on Friday.
The virus has spread across the United States, surfacing in at least four new states and in San Francisco.
More than 2,000 people have been stranded on the Grand Princess cruise ship after it was banned from returning to the port of San Francisco because at least 35 people on board developed flu-like symptoms. Test kits were delivered to the sea at sea.
Actions by some major economies, including the United States, to lower interest rates and pledge billions of dollars to fight the epidemic have done little to allay fears about the spread of the disease. disease and economic fallout, with supply chains paralyzed worldwide, particularly in China. .
In New York, JPMorgan (JPM.N) divided their team between central locations and a secondary site in New Jersey, while Goldman Sachs (GS.N) sent traders to neighboring secondary offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and Jersey City.
In London, the financial capital of Europe, the Canary Wharf district was exceptionally quiet. The large S&P Global office was left empty after the company fired its 1,200 employees home, while HSBC asked 100 people to work from home after a worker tested positive for the disease. .
“There is concern that, although there has been a response from the Fed, given the nature of the problem, is it something that the central bank can really help?” said John Davies, G10 rate strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in London.
FLOWING MARKETS
European stocks continued their downturn after the Japanese market fell to its lowest level in six months, with 97% of the stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the red. [MKTS/GLOB]
Airline and travel inventories were among the hardest hit, with people canceling non-essential trips. Norwegian Air Shuttle (NWC.OL), the title most affected by European carriers, lost more than a quarter of its market value on Friday and has fallen by almost 70% since the beginning of February.
US stock index futures fell sharply due to fears about the epidemic, which led to a sharp reduction in global economic growth forecasts for 2020. The S&P 500 .SPX benchmark looked like it was about to close the week more than 10% below its record close. February 19.
“If it really goes up, we could see a lot more updates on the sinking of the travel industry and airline kitchens,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. “What is impressive about the current movement is that it probably underestimates the degree of disruption we could face in the United States and Europe.”
Yields on long-term US Treasuries fell to record levels as gold was poised to make its biggest weekly gain since 2011, as investors fled to assets considered safe havens.
In Europe, yields on UK 10-year gilts GB10YT = RR also fell to an all-time low, while yields on the German Bund DE10YT = RR fell at a striking distance from record lows.
Yields fall as prices rise.
INFECTED CABIN CREW MEMBER
More than 100,300 people have been infected worldwide, according to a Reuters count based on statements from health ministries and government officials.
Mainland China, where the epidemic began, has claimed more than 3,000 lives, but the epidemic is now spreading faster elsewhere. The death toll in Italy, which suffered the worst epidemic in Europe, was at least 148.
About 3.4% of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus – known as COVID-19 – have died, well above the seasonal flu death rate of less than 1%, the Organization announced this week world health.
Singapore reported 13 new infections on Friday, its biggest daily jump, including a cabin crew member from Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI).
In the U.S., a global economic powerhouse, at least 57 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed when the virus first struck in Colorado, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas, as well as in San Francisco, California. A total of 230 people were infected and 12 died.
Google (GOOGL.O), Facebook, Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) advised employees in the Seattle area to work from home, after some had caught the virus. The recommendation of companies to work from home will affect more than 100,000 people in the region.
On Thursday, the United States Senate passed an $ 8.3 billion bill to fight the epidemic, joining a multitude of countries, including China and South Korea, to strengthen their war chests.
Additional reports by Steve Gorman and Cath Turner in Los Angeles, Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo, Pamela Barbaglia, Karin Strohecker, Thyagaraju Adinarayan, Ritvik Carvalho and Tommy Wilkes in London, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Written by Pravin Char; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Nick Macfie