How long before financial markets stop fearing the coronavirus?

Markets have tanked as fears about the coronavirus spread. Some sectors will certainly take a hit. But long-term investors shouldn't bee too worried, says John Stepek.

Markets around the world have taken a hit
(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

I’ve been pointing out that coronavirus is a scary thing, but not something to be too concerned about for your portfolio. Of course, by the end of the day yesterday, markets had all tanked and the headlines were blaming it on said coronavirus. So should you worry about it now? No – this is just what happens.

But one way to avoid feeling stressed about news events is to understand them better. So let’s unpick what’s going on.

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John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.