*Coronavirus Toll As of February 24;
Number Cases Worldwide: 80,147
Deaths: 2,699
-Coronavirus Keeps Scaring Markets, Germany GDP, Japan in Pursuit of Anti-Virus Measures
The cases of the coronavirus turning into an epidemic outside China, especially in Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, frightened the world stocks and forex markets at the beginning of the week.
Losses in Shares
Asia-Pacific stocks, especially Japan, suffered great losses. Nikkei index in Tokyo fell 3.4% as Blue-chip shares in Shanghai dropped by 1.6%.
In North America, Dow Jones closed the first day of the week with a fall of 1,031 points or 3.56% loss. Losses in Nasdaq exceeded 3.89% to 367 points.
US President Donald Trump, who was visiting India, said that the coronavirus in his country was under control and that China and other countries were doing a good job in fighting the virus, as he played down the market scare.
The declines in European and American stocks have been the biggest losses since mid-2016 due to fears that the coronavirus could turn into a pandemic that could break the global supply chains and cause much greater economic damage than initially thought.
Growth Forecasts For Turkey
Turkey’s economy grew by 5% in the fourth quarter, according to a survey of 16 economists by Reuters.
According to the survey, the economy as a whole grew 0.6% above the government forecast in the past year and partially recovered from the recessionary impact of the 2018 currency crisis.
Japan Seeks Measures
Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday that the government should pay attention to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, including on the financial markets.
Nishimura said the government wanted to implement the necessary economic support measures, depending on the urgency of the situation.
Germany GDP
Data released on Tuesday showed that the shrinking exports decreased German economic activity in the fourth quarter of last year, and Europe’s largest economy was stagnating even before the coronavirus outbreak began.
The seasonally adjusted annual GDP in Germany in the fourth quarter came in at 0.3% in line with the expectation of 0.3%.
*Reuters
