Wall Street takes a COVID-19 hit, snaps back

The China Project illustration by Derek Zheng

Wall Street took a major hit last week, as COVID-19 continued to spread outside China, sparking fears of global pandemic and recession. But “Stocks surged in the final minutes of trading on Monday, snapping back from one of the worst weeks for global markets since the 2008 financial crisis,” the New York Times reports (porous paywall).  

However, a further escalation “could cut global economic growth in half,” according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). On February 28, the World Health Organization raised “the risk of spread and the risk of impact of COVID-19 [from high] to very high at global level,” per SCMP.

Meanwhile, the Chinese economy looks far from healthy.