Coronavirus outbreak raises risks to outlook: US Fed chief Jerome Powell

US stocks initially advanced after the announcement before sliding into losses, while the 10-year treasury yield neared 1 per cent

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the coronavirus outbreak had increased risks to the US outlook causing the central bank to deliver an emergency half-percentage point interest rate cut to protect the country's record economic expansion.
 
“My colleagues and I took this action to help the US economy keep strong in the face of new risks to the economic outlook,” he told a hastily convened press conference in Washington on Tuesday. “The spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and risks.”
 
US stocks initially advanced after the announcement before sliding into losses, while the 10-year treasury yield