Global stock markets skid as coronavirus infections soar
Published 11:56 am Thursday, April 2, 2020
By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) — Global stock markets skidded Wednesday as reports of rising numbers of coronavirus cases deepened the gloom over the likely impact on the world economy.
France’s CAC 40 fell 4.4% to 4,204, while Germany’s DAX shed 3.9% to 9,546. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 3.8% to 5,457 after major banks announced they were scrapping dividend payments, bringing their share prices sharply lower.
U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow and S&P 500 futures both dipping 3.4%. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 4.5% to finish at 18,065.41.
With the number of infections still rising in most regions, “If anything, the worst is yet to come, and some of the world’s largest emerging markets are still to feel the full onslaught of COVID-19,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst with Oanda.
President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks” ahead as the White House projected there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S.
