A worker at a factory in Nanjing sorting face masks being produced to satisfy increased demand during China’s COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, in China’s Jiangsu province.
Stringer | AFP | Getty Images
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All times below are in Beijing time.
7:58 am: Hubei reports an additional 108 deaths bringing total fatalities in province to 2,029
Hubei’s health authorities reported there were 108 additional fatalities on Feb. 19, bringing the total number of people who died in the province to 2,029.
The Hubei Provincial Health Committee reported there were 349 new cases on Feb. 19 — down from 1,693 newly confirmed cases the day before. The commission stated that 349 was the final tally after deducting 279 cases from 10 Hubei cities. According to Reuters, the number of new cases reported daily is a net figure including such deductions. That means the number of new cases on Wednesday stood at 628, when the deductions were removed.
The virus — believed to have first emerged from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province — has killed more than 2,000 people so far. Less than 10 people outside the mainland have died from the virus.
All times below are in Eastern time.
5:06 pm: Markets may face ‘pretty serious reckoning’ as coronavirus slows growth
The coronavirus may significantly weaken a global economy that was already in a precarious position, Yale University’s Stephen Roach told CNBC. “If the global economy is as weak as I think it is in the first half of this year, that points to a pretty serious reckoning for frothy financial markets,” the former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman said on “Closing Bell.” Investors have been trying to make sense of what the coronavirus means for businesses since late January. And yet, the market has only seen a few pullbacks in that stretch as the major U.S. stock indexes continue to set fresh highs. — Stankiewicz
4:23 pm: Goldman says market underestimating virus risk: ‘Correction is looking much more probable’
Goldman Sachs sounded the alarm to clients about a possible correction in the stock market, noting investors are underestimating how big of a risk the coronavirus really is. “We believe the greater risk is that the impact of the coronavirus on earnings may well be underestimated in current stock prices, suggesting that the risks of a correction are high,” strategist Peter Oppenheimer wrote in a note. Oppenheimer thinks the market could be in trouble if earnings expectations aren’t ratcheted down. “Equity markets are looking increasingly exposed to near-term downward surprises to earnings growth,” said Oppenheimer. “While a sustained bear market does not look likely, a near-term correction is looking much more probable.” — Imbert
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Fed sees risk to global growth, markets face ‘pretty serious reckoning’
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Kevin Stankiewicz contributed to this report.