Coronavirus: Wall Street joins global sell-off in worst week since 2008 crisis

Equities have shed a tenth of their value this week in a rout that extended into Friday, with investors rushing to havens on mounting concerns the coronavirus outbreak will stunt the world economy and deal a heavy blow to corporate profits. US stocks opened 3.1 per cent lower before the three main indices – the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite – subsequently eased their losses to 2.5 per cent. The drop followed a fresh bout of selling for European and Asian equities in the final trading day of the week. MSCI’s Asia Pacific index dropped 2.6 per cent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 and the FTSE 100 both dropped by 4 per cent. The Iseq was down 2.3 per cent. “Whereas,...