European stock markets regained some ground on Friday after heavy losses the day before, even though some Asian markets fell sharply as the economic implications of the new coronavirus continued to weigh on values.
London’s key FTSE 100 index rebounded in opening trading, gaining 4.6 per cent after Thursday marked its biggest daily fall since 1987.
Germany’s benchmark stock index, the DAX, rose by 3.7 per cent to hit 9,505.77 in morning trading, after losses of more than 12 per cent the day before.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index was up 6.47 per cent shortly after midday (1100 GMT), while in Italy, the European country worst hit by the coronavirus, Milan’s FTSE MIB index was up 14.41 per cent, making up most of its record losses from the previous day.
Governments in several European countries stepped up their commitments to shore up economies, after analysts and markets were disappointed by the emergency bond purchases and liquidity measures announced by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told BFMTV television that Paris would be providing “tens of billions of euros” to protect business, jobs and workers’ incomes.
Read also: Germany promises unlimited credit for businesses hit by coronavirus
The German government on Friday promised businesses in the country an unlimited line of credit to offset the effects of coronavirus crisis.
The Swedish central bank announced it would lend up to 500 billion kronor (51 billion dollars) to banks for onward loans to ensure that “robust companies” were not “knocked out as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.”
Australia too saw a rebound, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rising 234.7 points, or 4.4 per cent, to 5,539.3 after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his government would advise against mass gatherings from Monday. It had earlier dropped 8.1 per cent, going below 5,000 for the first time since 2016.
But earlier closing Asian stocks plummeted, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average briefly falling 10.07 per cent before closing down 6.08 per cent at 17,431.05.
The broader Topix index was down 66.18 points, or 4.98 per cent, to end at 1,261.7.
South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 3.43 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.23 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index finished the day 1.1 per cent down, after plunging 7.4 per cent in earlier trading.
The gauge is now more than 20 per cent below its most recent peak, on April 19 last year, the definition of a bear market.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 2.82 per cent.
On Thursday, US stocks suffered the worst single-day percentage drop since the October 1987 crash, while exchanges in Europe saw double digit declines.
The S&P 500 lost 9.51 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 9.99 per cent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq took a 9.43-per-cent dive.
The heavy losses followed Wednesday’s World Health Organization’s (WHO) assessment that the Covid-19 outbreak has turned into a global pandemic.
They also came after US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the US entry ban for travellers from the European Schengen zone, in an effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. (dpa)
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