Volunteers from the Italian Red Cross purchase medicines for those who cannot leave their homes in Castiglione della Pescaia, while Italy is fighting a coronavirus outbreak in Castiglione della Pescaia, Italy March 12, 2020.
Jennifer Lorenzini | REUTERS
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- Global cases: At least 125,288, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization
- Global deaths: At least 4,614, according to the latest figures from the WHO
- US cases: At least 1,663, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
All times below are in Beijing time.
8:16 am: Major Asia-Pacific markets sink more than 6% each in morning trade
Investors in Asia-Pacific markets remained worried about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global growth prospects, taking cues from the overnight performance on Wall Street where stocks plummeted. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 fell 7%, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 6.98% and South Korea’s Kospi index declined 6.15%.
“Many global bourses are now at their lowest levels in four or five years,” David Plank from ANZ Research wrote in a note. “Growth expectations and earnings expectations are being revised down sharply and uncertainty over the duration of the slump is extending.” — Roy Choudhury
7:48 am: Google employee in India tests positive, office park shuts down
A Google employee based in its Bangalore, India, office tested positive for COVID-19 and is in quarantine, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. It’s the second known case of a Google employee contracting the disease and potentially being in contact with other workers. Employees have been asked to work from home at the Bangalore office on March 13 while the company conducts “further sanitisation.” Bangalore is one of several offices Google has in India, which mainly manages Search, services and product support. — Jennifer Elias
7:30 am: Italy cases top 15,000, death toll above 1,000
Italy’s health ministry said as of 6 p.m. local time on March 12, there were a total of 15,113 cases, including 1,258 people who have recovered and 1,016 who have died. The country tightened its nationwide lockdown further by ordering all non-essential shops and services to close. Citizens’ movements and activities have already been restricted and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the world was watching to see how Italy, now the country worst hit by the virus outside China, responds. — Roy Choudhury
7:19 am: Australian Grand Prix is canceled
Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix race has been canceled.
“Last night a member of the McLaren Racing team tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. A further seven individuals returned negative results, confirming that they do not have the COVID-19 virus,” the race organizers tweeted, adding a ninth individual has been assessed and tested for the disease, with results pending. “The individual is not associated with any Formula 1 team, the FIA or associated suppliers.”
Many sporting events and seasons been canceled or postponed due to fears over the global pandemic. — Roy Choudhury
7:10 am: Canadian PM self-isolating while his wife waits on test results
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is self-isolating at home while his wife, Sophie Gregoire, awaits the results of a test for COVID-19, a spokesperson said Thursday. “The doctor’s advice to the Prime Minister is to continue daily activities while self-monitoring, given he is exhibiting no symptoms himself,” Cameron Ahmad, Trudeau’s communications director, said in a statement. — Tucker Higgins
All times below are in Eastern time.
6 pm: Stock futures point to more losses Friday following market’s worst day since ‘Black Monday’
Stock futures pointed to more pain ahead on Friday as they fell in overnight trading following major averages losing the most since the “Black Monday” market crash in 1987.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 250 points shortly after the open of overnight trading Thursday. — Yun Li
5:37 pm: Amazon tells all employees to stay home amid coronavirus fears
Amazon is telling all of its employees globally to stay home through the month of March, as the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads.
“We continue to work closely with public and private medical experts to ensure we are taking the right precautions as the situation continues to evolve,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. “As a result, we are now recommending that all of our employees globally who are able to work from home do so through the end of March.” — Annie Palmer
4:11 pm: New York City declares state of emergency
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency, just hours after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced new restrictions for large events and businesses. De Blasio said he expected that large venues like Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Radio City Music Hall will not operate “for a number of months.” — Sara Salinas
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: France shutters schools, New York bans gatherings over 500
— CNBC’s Jennifer Elias, Tucker Higgins, Sara Salinas, Yun Li, and Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
