Despite the secretary's optimism, international anxiety over the coronavirus has provoked a historically negative reaction in recent days from Wall Street, alarmed at least in part by President Donald Trump's management of the mushrooming outbreak.

Following the president's prime-time address to the nation Wednesday evening, during which he announced a 30-day ban on foreign visitors from most of Europe, panicked investors triggered a marketwide trading halt for the second time this week and only the third time in history.

But Trump asserted Thursday that drastic measures to protect American lives justified any potential economic downturn and offered rosy predictions of a market recovery.

"It's taken a big hit, but it's going to all bounce back, and it's going to bounce back very big at the right time," he told reporters at the White House.

Mnuchin's remarks Friday echoed a similar assessment made last week by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who urged investors to capitalize on the faltering stock market amid coronavirus fears.

"Long-term investors should think seriously about buying these dips," he told CNBC, describing the state of the U.S. economy as "sound."