Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged on Wednesday the risks from any slowdown in the world's second-largest economy but said it was too early to say what the extent of the impact would be on the United States.
Taiwan's benchmark index slumped 4.9%, which if sustained would be its biggest daily drop in 15 months, in its first session since the Lunar New Year break. The Taiwan dollar fell half a percentage point to its lowest this year. Infections have been reported in at least 15 other countries and in every province of mainland China. Sweden's IKEA said on Thursday that it has temporarily closed all its stores in China because of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Most analysts have looked to the impact from the 2002-2003 spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , which pounded tourism and confidence, albeit briefly. "The spillover effect from China to the rest of world tends to be much larger than the SARS episode," they added, pointing out China's share of the world economy has more than trebled since then.
The Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Korean won all fell, while the safe havens of the Japanese yen and Swiss franc were firm.