Coronavirus pandemic fears send FTSE 100 staggering

Reported today on City AM

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European stocks tumbled yet again today as fresh coronavirus concerns saw the FTSE 100 sink 2.3 per cent as markets opened.London's blue-chip index plunged far below 7,000 points to 6,878.9 in early trading after Australia's Prime Minister warned the world is on the brink of a coronavirus pandemic.Read more: StanChart profit rises but bank lowers growth target over coronavirusMore than 2,800 people have now died from the Covid-19 virus and more than 82,000 people are infected. So far Italy has counted the highest number of infections in Europe at 453, John Hopkins University figures show. Meanwhile, Germany has counted 27 cases and 18 cases exist in France as well as 13 in Spain and the UK.Australian PM Scott Morrison, whose country has 23 cases, said today: "There is every indication that the world will soon enter a pandemic phase."That sent the FTSE 100 sprawling to a fresh low this week after it eked out a marginal rise yesterday after two consecutive days of declines.Advertising giant WPP sank 16 per cent while UK airline stocks were again exposed amid ongoing travel restrictions to curb the coronavirus spread. Easyjet dropped almost nine per cent and tour operator Tui sank 5.5 per cent.France's Cac dropped 2.4 per cent while Germany's Dax sank 2.3 per cent lower in early trading. They followed the lead of Asian stocks. Japan's Nikkei dropped two per cent overnight while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index managed to climb 0.3 per cent.Panic over the danger of a coronavirus pandemic has led Italy to put towns into lockdown, while Romania reported its first case today.Read more: What is the coronavirus and how dangerous is it?Meanwhile in the US, vice-president Mike Pence has taken charge of a coronavirus taskforce after the country's Centers for Disease Control and Preventi

staggering