Will the world's big central banks leave U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hanging? They're certainly going to try.

No major central bank has yet matched the Fed's emergency rate cut in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and there is mounting evidence that its counterparts in the eurozone, Japan, Britain and Switzerland are keen to avoid a hasty response.

While the coronavirus outbreak is already disrupting global supply chains, slowing industrial activity, grounding flights and hitting financial markets, central banks have more reason to hold out than pull the trigger.