The euphoria over passing of the recent $2.2 billion economic relief package has all but disappeared as the reality of the skyrocketing number of coronavirus cases is again sending the global stock market tumbling.
According to an Associated Press report, early Wednesday morning trading saw France’s CAC 40 stock index fell 4.4% to 4,204, while Germany’s DAX fell 3.9% to 9,546. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 3.8% to 5,457.
Early Wednesday morning, the Dow fell 3.25%, Nasdaq 2.97%, and the S&P (Standard and Poors) index 3.34%. By the day's end, the news was even worse: the Dow fell 4.44%, or 973 points, which according to reports was largest point decline in two weeks. The Nasdaq fell 339 points (4.41%), and the S&P 114 points (also 4.41%).
The rising number of infections was underscored by U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday, who warned Americans to to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks” ahead, with projections now calling for 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S.
According to the AP report, the same gloom surfaced in economic indicators around the world. The Bank of Japan’s quarterly survey, or “tankan,” showed sentiment among Japan’s large manufacturers fell in the January-March period, marking the fifth straight quarter of decline, AP said. The tankan measures corporate sentiment by subtracting the number of companies saying business conditions are negative from those responding they are positive.
According to AP, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 3.6% to 5,258.60, while South Korea’s Kospi dipped 3.9% to 1,685.46. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.2% to 23,085.79, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.6% lower to 2,734.52. India’s Sensex fell 4.7%.