Coronavirus sparks historic market rout, global shutdown

Global stock markets suffered historic falls as panic spread on Friday over the spiralling coronavirus crisis that has killed nearly 5,000 and infected sport, schools and society across the planet.

The virus has affected all areas of life, sealing off entire countries, sparking draconian government measures not seen in peacetime, and forcing the cancellation of global sporting and cultural events from Broadway to basketball.

Japan's stock market fell more than 10 percent on Friday, following the worst day on Wall Street since the crash of 1987 as traders scrambled to sell everything on fears the virus will catapult the world into a deep recession.

Markets shrugged off emergency big-bang measures by central banks in the United States and eurozone, and government fiscal stimulus packages, with fears escalating over the tightening noose on the global economy.

"In mere weeks, the market has shifted gears from a transitory health scare to a full-blown global recession," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

"Global supply chains are no longer just 'disrupted' but are now in the process of shutting down completely."
Betul Akcagoz, a tourist from Turkey on holiday in Vienna, told AFP: "So bad. There is nothing to do. I hope we can go back to Turkey because in our country, they said they might close the borders too." "I hope they won't because we don't want to be stuck here."
The virus has placed a major question mark over the "Greatest Show on Earth", the Tokyo Olympics, with Trump saying "maybe they postpone it for a year."