Watch Live: Pence Delivers Coronavirus Update As ‘Grand Princess’ Docks In Oakland

Following the worst single session for American stocks since the financial crisis on Monday, we suspect Vice President Mike Pence and the other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force have been briefed on their top objective for Monday night’s press conference: assuage the market’s fears about the coronavirus and convince the American people that the administration has caught up with its testing efforts.

Pence has some good news to report: dozens of public and private labs have been approved and equipped to handle coronavirus tests, which should hasten the process of tracking and containing the outbreak.

The cruise ship Grand Princess also docked in Oakland on Monday.

The downside, for markets, is that improved testing also means the public might get a glimpse of the true extent of the epidemic.

We suspect investors will be watching with baited breath, because thirty minutes after Pence is set to go live, futures trading opens at 6 pmET.