Coronavirus contagion concerns: Unknown territory

Difficult to predict impact on global growth

Financial markets remain highly focused on the fast-spreading Wuhan novel coronavirus. Yesterday’s 8% drop in the Shanghai Composite index, as Chinese stockmarkets reopen after a week's suspension is stark measure of the impact of this epidemic on investor sentiment.

Chinese authorities have made significant attempts to stabilise financial markets, announcing an impressive range of policy initiatives over the weekend, but even these could not overcome the adverse impact of coronavirus concerns.  As things stand, many important biological characteristics of the Wuhan coronavirus are still poorly understood. While some commentators have drawn analogies between the current outbreak and other coronavirus epidemics, such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), these comparisons are of limited value. Coro...