Coronavirus stock market slide pauses as Bank of Japan promises action

The worst stock rout since the global financial crisis showed signs of at least a pause on Monday, prompted by optimism that central banks will again save the day.

U.S. futures saw modest gains after the S&P 500 Index closed out its worst week since 2008. Monday began with further declines in stocks and gains in bonds, before the Bank of Japan joined the Federal Reserve in issuing a rare statement assuring that “appropriate” actions will be taken. In Australia, an interest-rate cut by the central bank is now seen as a done deal Tuesday. U.S., Australian and New Zealand 10-year bond yields hit fresh record lows. The yen slid.

China’s CSI 300 Index rose more than 3% even after that country saw a much deeper contraction in manufacturing than economists had anticipated.

On the coronavirus front, the number of cases and deaths outside of China continues to climb. The global death toll has surpassed 3,000. The number of U.S. cases climbed over the weekend, including the first positive test for a person in New York State, while cases in Italy and South Korea jumped.

“We’ll start to see more rhetoric from governments to address the situation both from a fiscal and central bank easing standpoint,” said Damien Loh, chief investment officer at Ensemble Capital Pte in Singapore. “We might see one leg of risk-off but it feels to me most of the bad news has been priced in.”

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists now expect the virus to inflict a “short-lived global contraction” on the world economy that forces the Fed to slash rates in the first half. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has opened the door to a rate cut, citing the “evolving risks” posed to the U.S. economy from the virus, in a rare statement issued Friday.

Elsewhere, the Mexican peso tumbled about 1% after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering increased controls on the border since Mexico reported its first coronavirus case.

Here are some key events coming up:

A key factory gauge on Monday is projected to show that U.S. manufacturing came close to stagnating last month. The ISM purchasing managers index is estimated to fall to 50.5 from 50.9.
The Reserve Bank of Australia sets policy on Tuesday.
U.S. citizens in states including California and Texas will vote on “Super Tuesday” for a Democratic candidate to run against President Donald Trump in November’s election.
The Bank of Canada has a rate decision on Wednesday.
OPEC ministers gather in Vienna on March 5-6.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 3:08 p.m. in Tokyo. The underlying gauge fell 0.8% on Friday.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose about 0.5%.
Japan’s Topix index rose about 1%.
South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.8%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9%.
Shanghai Composite rallied 3.3%.