Hong Kong reports its first fatality linked to the coronavirus with the total death toll surpassing 420 and more than 20,000 cases confirmed globally. Chinese President Xi Jinping strikes a defiant tone, saying Beijing has launched a ‘people’s war of prevention’ against the outbreak and has threatened to punish anyone failing to perform their duties in combatting the virus. Asian equities claw back some of the steep losses Chinese mainland markets suffered yesterday, while oil also reverses following a brief dip by WTI below $50 per barrel. In the U.S., markets are on tenterhooks awaiting the delayed result of the Iowa caucuses, which have been thrown into disarray due to voting inconsistencies. And in corporate news, Alphabet stocks dip into the red after-hours on the back of poor Google ad sales and YouTube data despite the tech giant beating Q4 expectations. But Tesla shares soar by almost 20 per cent – the company’s biggest one-day gain in seven years – boosted by stellar numbers from battery partner Panasonic and a mega-upgrade from an investor report.

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