Global shares hit as investors focus on coronavirus outbreak in prisons

A global stock rally was stopped in its tracks after new concerns flared that the coronavirus could spread significantly beyond the locked-down cities at the epicentre of the outbreak in China.

Stock markets across Asia, Europce, as well as the US, retreated by between 0.5% and 1%, and the price of Brent crude oil fell to $58.50, as investors were spooked by the outbreak of the deadly virus in Chinese prisons.