China Shanghai Index settled at 3039.67 up 9.52 or +0.31% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index finished at 7139.00, down 23.50 or -0.33%.

Coronavirus Update

CNBC reported that investors continued to watch for developments on the ongoing coronavirus – also known as COVID-19 – outbreak, with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus telling reporters on Thursday that the low number of cases outside of China “may not stay the same for long.”

WHO said Thursday that the new coronavirus has not yet spread widely around the world, but emphasized that the virus could break out globally at any time. Outside of China, Tedros said there are 1,076 confirmed cases in 26 countries, including seven deaths. The remarks come after health officials confirmed that the virus has spread to Iran and cases surged in South Korea overnight.

“The number of cases in the rest of the world is very small compared to what we have in China, but that may not stay the same for long,” Tedros said. “The window of opportunity we have now may close, so we need to use the window of opportunity we have now by hammering the outbreak in any country,” Tedros added.

“I think the number of cases are really manageable and I hope South Korea will do everything to contain this outbreak at this early stage,” Tedros said about the situation.