Coronavirus outbreak drags down markets

• Financial markets around the world have been rattled by the coronavirus outbreak in China on the back of fears that quarantine measures could drag down growth in the world’s second-largest economy, with a knock-on impact elsewhere around the world.
• Stock markets had begun 2020 close to record highs against a background of cooling tensions between the US and China in the long-running trade war between the two countries.
• The FTSE 100 soared to a high of 7,684 after Donald Trump signed phase one of a trade deal with Beijing in mid-January.
• However, stocks have slumped over the past week, with the FTSE 100 dropping to below 7,500.

Source: Guardian Business

 

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