The first day back to work after a long holiday is always a bit grating. But for those logging in at the Chinese stock market for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, all bets were off.

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The rest of the world’s markets have been riding the waves of coronavirus-induced volatility for weeks now as the infection spreads, while the epicenter remained economically silent.

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No sooner had the markets opened for the first time since 23 January – thanks to the Chinese New Year and an extra two days of shutdown tagged on the end by the Chinese government – than the whole thing promptly stalled, initially selling off -8.7 per cent in Shanghai and -9 per cent in Shenzhen during early trading despite a flurry of significant measures by the state designed to cushion the blow.

This time of year is always an odd one for the Chinese economy as the biggest annual human migration in the world sees the shutdown of factories for weeks on end while consumer spending soars.

This year, as the latest figures from the weekend reveal the overall death toll has surpassed 420 with over 17,000 confirmed infections globally, that really hasn’t happened.

And while we’d expect airlines and tourism to be affected, and Chinese currency to be offloaded faster than the latest shipment of face masks, the effects are being felt far and wide, from commodities to luxury goods.

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