WORLD STOCKS SHAKY

LONDON : World share markets and oil prices struggled on Tuesday after coronavirus panic caused  Wall Street's worst one day rout since the Black Monday crash of 1987.

In Europe, early 1.5 percent to 3 pc gains in London, Frankfurt and Paris were quickly wiped out as airline and travel suffered a 6.5 percent drubbing.

The dollar recouped some lost ground against the safe-haven Japanese yen, Oil gave up attempted gains after Brent's drop below $30 a barrel on Monday.

''We saw quiet a staggering drop yesterday, so it might just be a bit of calm after that storm,'' said  Rabobank analyst Bas Van Geffen. ''But we are  not sure.''

Financially markets cratered on Monday with S&P 500 tumbling 12 pc. Emergency central bank rate cuts globally only added to the investor panic.

Tuesday's stablisation saw Australian shares close 5.9pc higher, their biggest daily percentage gain, since October 2008, after plunging nearly 10pc on Monday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares and Japan's Nikkei both finished steady. South Korea finished down 2.4 pc, however, and the Philippines became the first country to suspend all trading over the virus.

Futures trade still pointed to a positive open in US markets. The S&P 500 e-minis, were up 1pc, although earlier they had been up 3.8pc.

Some $2.7 trillion in market value was wiped from the S&P 500 on Monday as it suffered its third-largest daily percentage decline on record. Over the past 18 days, the benchmark index has lost $8.3 trillion .

''The move in US stock futures prompted some buying of battered down shares and lifted dollar/yen,'' said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG securities in Tokyo.

''The focus is shifting to the fiscal response to the virus. We're locked in a pattern where markets bounce and then resume falling.'' [Reuters]