The local sharemarket swung in a huge range on Monday, as it dropped 193.7 points during a morning slump then gained momentum from Asian markets to close only 49.7 points lower. By the end of the day, futures markets were pointing to gains on Wall Street and commodity prices were re-bounding on expectations central banks will cut rates to stimulate economic growth.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.8 per cent lower at 6391.5 points. It has now fallen 11.2 per cent, or 805 points, from the record high struck on February 20. The index has fallen for seven sessions in a row, its longest losing streak since September 2018.

Despite Monday afternoon's improved outlook, there remains a lot of uncertainty with COVID-19 cases increasing around the world.

"As things stand, it is hard to see a path to convincingly good news on the coronavirus front in the weeks ahead. The virus now has such global momentum that things seem certain to get worse before they get better and they might get very much worse," wrote Paul O’Connor, head of Janus Henderson Investors' multi-asset team, in a note released on Monday.