Coronavirus Sparks Talk of Global Recession and 'Economic Pandemic' as Stock Markets Dive

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 80,000, with new outbreaks in Italy and Iran and a worsening situation in South Korea, stock markets plummeted amid analysts' fears that the health emergency might spark a global recession.

But others cautioned that the risk of recession is low and China will likely contain the new coronavirus by the end of March, staving off an economic crisis. Moreover, the internet is helping offset some of the economic damage.

Monday's sharp falls on America's Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ indices bled into Tuesday. So did drops on the FTSE 100 in the U.K. and the Nikkei 225 in Japan. President Donald Trump, who holds up the stock markets as evidence of his economic success, is reportedly furious.

China's economy, which is the second-largest on the planet, and whose manufacturing and production sectors serve as a workshop to the rest of the world, has taken a severe hit because of its response to coronavirus. Global businesses are now suffering from supply chain issues.