1. Asia: Asian stocks fell sharply in morning trade on Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged into bear market territory overnight as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 2.91 percent lower.

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2. Wall Street: US stocks plunged on Wednesday, with the Dow confirming a bear market for the first time since the financial crisis after the World Health Organization called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,464.94 points, or 5.86 percent, to 23,553.22, the S&P 500 lost 140.85 points, or 4.89 percent, to 2,741.38 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 392.20 points, or 4.7 percent, to 7,952.05.

3. Market at Close: Indian shares ended flat in volatile trade on Wednesday, as conglomerate Reliance Industries gained on the back of a bounce in oil prices, although worries over the rapid global spread of the coronavirus capped gains. The BSE Sensex ended 62 points higher at 35,697 while the Nifty50 index settled 7 points higher at 10,458.

4. Crude oil: Oil prices fell 4 percent on Wednesday, sinking into the close of trading with renewed weakness in the stock market after the World Health Organization said the global coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic, and as major oil producers announced plans to escalate the burgeoning price war. Brent crude settled down $1.43, or 3.8 percent, at $35.79 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended down $1.38 or 4 percent to $32.98.

5. Rupee: The rupee recovered 56 paise to settle at 73.61 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid positive domestic equities and weakening of the American dollar in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened higher at 73.88 gained further ground to touch a high of 73.55 in day trade. The local unit finally settled at 73.61 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a rise of 56 paise over its previous close.

6. WHO: Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and inadequate government responses, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but added that it's not too late for countries to act. By reversing course and using the charged word “pandemic” that it previously shied away from, the UN health agency sought to shock lethargic countries into pulling out all the stops.

7. US President Donald Trump announced measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic from the Oval Office at the White House on early Thursday morning. Trump announced that barring the United Kingdom, the United States has suspended all travel from Europe for 30 days from starting Friday. Trump blamed the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the “foreign virus" and saying US clusters were “seeded” by European travelers.

8. SBI: The State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday rationalised interest rate on all savings bank accounts to a flat 3 percent, a move affecting 44.51 crore account holders. The country’s largest public-sector lender also waived the requirement for maintaining minimum balance in SB accounts. The SBI further said it has also waived SMS charges, which will bring significant relief to all the customers.

9. Coronavirus: Two persons from Mumbai and another from Nagpur on Wednesday tested positive for coronavirus, taking the number of such cases in Maharashtra to 11, officials said. Addressing a press conference in the evening, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said two positive cases from Mumbai and eight from Pune have been reported till now.

10. Finance Minister: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with chief executives of amalgamating banks on Thursday to review preparedness for the merger beginning April 1. Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved consolidation of 10 state-owned banks into four. According to sources, the finance minister will review planning and preparedness of merging banks on March 12.