Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down by 0.2%, the Stoxx Europe 600 index declined by 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.4%.

Markets worry that the disease could quickly be transmitted across the world and have a dramatic impact, including financially. The coronavirus seems similar to SRAS and has already killed 4 people.

There is some good news though, as Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron agreed to bury the hatchet until the end of the year concerning the digital tax and its corollary, the surtax on the importation of emblematic French products to the United States. This moratorium should make it possible to find a compromise on this thorny issue.

Brexit will officially happen at the end of the month and everyone agrees that the hardest part is starting for the United Kingdom. Boris Johnson, although he may have won a great legislative victory, did not necessarily win in a persistently fragmented British political landscape. This was demonstrated yesterday in the House of Lords, where an amendment tabled by the Liberal Democrats on protecting the rights of EU nationals residing across the Channel was validated against the government's advice. A detail, but which shows that the lines are still moving.

Finally, the Davos Economic Forum starts today with its parade of political, activist, economic and financial leaders. A survey shows that, for the first time, the five major concerns are all environmental (extreme weather, failures on the climate front, natural disasters, loss of biodiversity and the impact of human activity on the environment).

Another interesting news is that the IMF is revising its global growth estimates for 2020. According to the institution, world growth should be 3.3% in 2020 (against 3.4% in October 2019). Nevertheless, this would represent a first recovery in three years. Among the factors having a positive impact on growth, two main ones are retained: the accommodating policies of central banks and the easing of trade between China and the United States. Growth forecasts in the US have been revised downwards for 2020 (2% compared to 2.1% previously), as has been the case for India, which has been penalised by falling domestic demand.

Today, on the agenda, we have the ZEW German Financial Confidence Index. Earlier today, the Bank of Japan maintained the status quo on its key rates while raising its economic forecasts with growth expected to reach 0.9% this year, compared to 0.7% previously.