The fast-spreading coronavirus will clearly have an impact on global economic growth and the International Monetary Fund is likely to downgrade its growth forecast as result, a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

"Clearly the virus is going to have an impact on growth," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a regular briefing. He gave no specific details.

He said he expected a decision soon on the impact of the coronavirus for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in April, noting that a range of options were under consideration.

Reuters reported Wednesday that officials were considering scaling back the meetings or holding them by teleconference.

Wall Street's main indexes tumbled on Thursday, putting them more than 10% below record highs set earlier this month and indicating that they then entered an intraday correction, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus globally deepened worries about growth and corporate earnings.

The number of new infections in China was overtaken for the first time by fresh cases elsewhere on Wednesday, most notably in Italy and Iran, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an infection in California in a person who reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient.

Investors piled into safe-haven assets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching an all-time low for the third consecutive day, while the dollar fell on expectations that the Federal reserve would respond by lowering interest rates.