It seemed Europe chose to follow in the footsteps of the Shanghai Composite rather than the rest of the Asian markets, shaking off the news that Japan’s economy contracted by an eye-watering 1.6% in the fourth quarter.
The suggestion that the Bank of Japan is ready to step in if the coronavirus ‘significantly affects’ the country’s economy appeared to mitigate the blow of that GDP reading, capping the Nikkei 225 losses at 0.7%.
Ditto the hopes that Beijing is willing to pump in more stimulus to try and bubble-wrap China from the full impact of the outbreak – which now stands at 70,548 cases and 1,770 deaths on the mainland.
Not that Europe’s gains were anywhere near the 2%-plus rise seen by the Shanghai Composite. Instead the FTSE 100 nudged 0.4% higher as it tried to put some distance between it and 7400. The DAX and CAC 40, meanwhile, barely moved after the bell.
The session as a whole may be rather quiet, given that the Dow Jones is off celebrating Presidents’ Day.
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