European and Asian shares sink into the red
Europe’s leading markets opened in the red on Monday and remained in negative territory at midday, shadowing most Asian markets, amid concerns over the fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic.
Germany’s stock market initially took another hit. The benchmark DAX index dropped 4.08 per cent to 8,564.59 points in early trading but by midday (1100 GMT) had recovered some ground, down 2.99 per cent. It has fallen by almost 40 per cent over the last month.
“The markets are today making US politicians pay for their lack of an agreement,” QC Partners portfolio manager Thomas Altmann said, referring to stalled negotiations in the United States on a 1-trillion-dollar economic stimulus package.
London’s key FTSE 100 index plunged another 4 per cent in opening trading on Monday, after posting its biggest drop since 2008 last week.
The Paris stock exchange’s CAC 40 index opened down 4.44 per cent on Friday, which had been an unusually good day, but regained ground in the morning to stand at 3,941.27 shortly before noon (11 GMT), down 2.66 per cent on Friday’s close.
In Italy, the Milan stock exchange’s FTSE MIB index stood at 15,275.65 just before noon, down 2.9 per cent on Friday’s close.
Earlier, shares in Asia fell sharply although Tokyo bucked the trend.
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India’s domestic markets recorded their biggest intra-day losses to end at three-year lows amid the panic over the pandemic.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex crashed nearly 4,000 points to end the day’s trade at 25,981.24 points, down 13.15 per cent.
The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of National Stock Exchange also tanked 1,135.20 points, down 12.98 per cent.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 5.62 per cent while the broader All Ordinaries index also dived 5.98 per cent.
South Korea’s Kospi plunged 5.34 per cent on the day and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 4.86 per cent while the Shanghai Composite index declined 3.11 per cent.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange tumbled 3.73 per cent on the day.
Meanwhile, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up 2.02 per cent as investors bought back shares that were seen as oversold, analysts said. (dpa)
