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| - European and US stock markets slumped painfully again Thursday as new coronavirus infections spread outside China. While the markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher, Europe was a sea of red with London, Frankfurt and Paris all posting losses of more than three percent on the day. New York showed a drop of almost 2.0 percent in midday trading, while Tokyo closed with a loss of 2.1 percent. Oil prices plunged by more than four percent at one point before recovering somewhat, while the yen gained as traders turned to a traditional haven in times of economic turbulence. The euro was almost 1.1 percent higher against the pound as EU and British leaders laid down red lines in Brexit trade talks. "There was more coronavirus carnage on the markets," Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell told AFP. He noted that "this is one of the worst weeks in recent memory and terrifyingly, it's not over yet. Friday is a tricky proposition." IG trading group analyst Joshua Mahony remarked that "what was a centralised focus on Italian containment efforts has now turned into a European-wide crisis as new cases pop up throughout the continent." President Emmanuel Macron said France was preparing for a surge in the number of cases, adding: "We are facing a crisis, an epidemic." Denmark and Estonia reported their first cases, meanwhile. In the United States, President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to ease concerns, telling reporters he did not think it "inevitable" that COVID-19 would continue to spread throughout the country. US public health officials subsequently confirmed a coronavirus case in California that was the first of unknown origin domestically. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday told schools to close nationwide from Monday for several weeks, and Saudi Arabia banned pilgrims from visiting Islam's holiest sites to try to contain the virus. Around 2,760 people have died worldwide and more than 81,000 have been infected in dozens of countries, raising fears of a pandemic. Investors are bracing for the economic impact, with companies including Apple, Microsoft and drinks giant Diageo saying they expect sales to suffer. Several days of steep stock market losses "have turned investor sentiment on its head in a fashion that is almost schizophrenic in nature," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets. "From the unshakeable optimism seen at the beginning of the year, investors have done a complete U-turn switching from excessive optimism to outright pessimism in less than a week," he noted. The virus continued to spread meanwhile, with new cases cropping up in countries from Brazil and Pakistan to Georgia and Norway. Shanghai's stock market nonetheless closed slightly higher as the virus appeared to be easing a bit in China as it strengthened in countries such as Iran, Italy and South Korea. Observers warned markets to prepare for more surprises. Katie Koch at Goldman Sachs Asset Management expected "more uncertainty around how coronavirus is going to spread, particularly in the US". The panic-selling has seen investors rush into haven investments, with the yield on 10-year and 30-year US Treasuries around record lows, while gold climbed to $1,655.10 an ounce. London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.5 percent at 6,796.30 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 3.2 percent at 12,367.46 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 3.3 percent at 5,495.60 (close) Milan - FTSE MIB: DOWN 2.7 percent at 22,799.37 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 3.4 percent at 3,455.92 New York - Dow: DOWN 1.9 percent at 26,437.96 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.1 percent at 21,948.23 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.3 percent at 26,778.62 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 2,991.33 (close) Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.15 from 110.43 at 2200 GMT Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0978 from $1.0881 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2881 from $1.2905 Euro/pound: UP at 85.22 pence from 84.32 pence Brent Crude: DOWN 3.3 percent at $51.65 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.3 percent at $46.64 burs-wai/klm
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