Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the
world’s financial markets after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared
the outbreak of a pandemic, and the US banned all European flights.
European
stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday with the London FTSE down over five
percent. Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce led the losses, as the company’s shares
were down 13 percent, and airline stocks were also hit hard.
German
shares were also down, with the DAX dropping seven percent to hit its lowest
level since 2016. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 lost almost nine percent.
Stocks in Italy, the worst-affected
country by coronavirus outside of China was down around six percent. Russia’s
main index on the Moscow Exchange opened almost five percent lower.
The
losses on Asian markets were led by Australia, with its key All Ordinaries
index closing down 7.23 percent. It was followed by India’s Mumbai Sensex,
which is down over 6.5 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225, which lost 4.4 percent.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange had
fallen 3.6 percent by the end of the trading day, while the Shanghai Composite
was down 1.52 percent.
On
Wednesday, US stocks suffered massive losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial
Average losing 1,464 points or almost 5.9 percent, while the S&P 500
plummeted nearly five percent.
The
sharp sell-offs came after US President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of
all travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days starting Friday as he
addresses the nation on coronavirus.
The
restrictions came shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced
that the Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.
[Reuters]
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