INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Dow Jones tumbled by almost 1,200 points on Thursday amid growing anxiety about the coronavirus - the biggest one-day drop in its
history.Global stock markets are now heading for their worst week since the darkest days of the financial crisis 12 years ago.The mass
sell-offs are a sharp contrast to the beginning of February, when the Dow reached all-time highs as investors shrugged off the threat of an
outbreak.Image:Hundreds of millions of pounds has been wiped off the value of stock marketsPanic on Wall Street has been fuelled by warnings
from major companies that profits could take a hit as countries around the world try to contain COVID-19, the disease caused by the
coronavirus.The number of new infections being reported around the world now surpass those in China - shattering hopes that the epidemic
would be short-lived and economic activity would return to normal.Apple and Microsoft, two of the world's largest businesses, are among
those who have said their sales this quarter will be affected.A toxic cocktail of factory shutdowns in China, lockdowns and travel
restrictions is to blame - with airlines, hotels and cruise ship companies among those suffering the steepest falls in their share
prices.Image:There was a sea of red on screens in the New York Stock Exchange yesterdayNorihiro Fujito, an investment strategist, said: "The
coronavirus now looks like a pandemic
Markets can cope even if there is big risk as long as we can see the end of the tunnel."But at the moment, no one can tell how long this
will last and how severe it will get."Some markets around the world have now fallen by more than 10% from their recent highs, putting them
fairly into correction territory
There are analysts who believe such a slump was long overdue.How to contain a global pandemicThe misery continued early on Friday morning in
the Asian markets, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunging by more than 3%.Later, all eyes will be on London's FTSE 100
have also taken a hit - reaching their lowest level in more than a year - over fears a major economic slump is on the horizon.Gold, which
investors often flock to during times of uncertainty, is trading close to the seven-year high of $1,688.90 hit earlier this month.In his
final interview before he steps down as Bank of England governor later this month, Mark Carney told Sky News that Britain should prepare
itself for an economic growth downgrade as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak deepens.However, he said it is too early to tell exactly how
the UK will be affected.'Coronavirus is having economic consequences'In other developments:Schools in the UK could be closed for more than
two months if the outbreak intensifies, England's chief medical officer has saidNorthern Ireland has confirmed its first case of the
coronavirusSome British tourists are being allowed to leave a Tenerife hotel on lockdown because of COVID-19 - but Jet2 says it will not fly
them home until testing confirms they haven't got the diseaseBritish cyclists Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish are among the riders being
tested for the coronavirus after the UAE Tour was cancelledOfficials in California are trying to retrace the movements of a woman who could
be the first to contract COVID-19 with no known connection to travel abroadThe number of coronavirus cases in South Korea has exceeded 2,000
after 256 new diagnoses were confirmedThe sharp downwards trend of new COVID-19 cases has continued in China, where there were 327 new cases
and 44 deaths on Thursday.Sky News will broadcast Virus Outbreak: Global Emergency, a special programme on the coronavirus, at 2pm.
