Cinemas empty, high-speed train trips cancelled, tourist sites closed, an entire province shut down: The extraordinary measures taken by China to contain a deadly coronavirus threaten to dent an already fragile economy.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea said Wednesday it had temporarily closed half of its 30 stores in mainland China until further notice amid concerns over the deadly new coronavirus.

U.S. stocks continued to march higher at the open Wednesday, as positive news from major companies outweighed concerns about the spreading virus in China.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun said on Wednesday he was "confident" China could contain a viral outbreak that has prompted airlines to cancel flights and governments to warn against travel to the country.

British telecoms group Vodafone said  Wednesday it had agreed to sell its majority stake in its Egyptian unit to Saudi Telecom Company for $2.4 billion (2.2 billion euros).

French auto giant Renault on Tuesday named former VW director Luca de Meo its chief executive as it seeks to regain its footing after a year of turmoil sparked by the arrest of Carlos Ghosn.

Renault's board decided the 52-year-old Italian will take up his new post on July 1, the company said in a statement.

Britain on Tuesday gave the green light to a limited role for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the country's 5G network, in a decision it said was necessary for developing its future digital economy but one that left the United States "disappointed" after it called for a total ban.  

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez will begin his first tour of Europe on Wednesday with a visit to the Vatican, after which he will concentrate on trying to renegotiate the South American country's burdensome national debt.

Wall Street stocks tumbled early Monday, joining a global selloff amid rising fears over the widening coronavirus outbreak in China.

General Motors said on Monday one of its U.S. manufacturing plant set for closure will instead shift to producing new electric trucks and SUVs.