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Thursday, 28 March 2024

Coronavirus crash wipes $5 trillion off world stocks

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Coronavirus crash wipes $5 trillion off world stocks
Coronavirus crash wipes $5 trillion off world stocks

Coronavirus panic sent world share markets crashing again on Friday, compounding their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.

Ciara Lee reports

Beijing residents are now able to pick up fresh produce from their cars, as they get used to daily life amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Global investors though... they're still adjusting.

On Friday (February 28) share markets headed for their worst week since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.

Bringing the wipeout in value terms to $5 trillion.

European shares dropped 3% in early trade, sliding deeper into correction territory.

Among the sectors hardest hit were mining, travel & leisure, and tech stocks.

They were all down around 4%.

In Asia, Japanese shares plummeted in heavy volume.

The Nikkei fell 4.3% on rising fears the Olympics might be called off due to the virus.

The index was down 9.6% for the week, its biggest weekly drop in four years.

Semiconductor-related shares there also suffered, as well as blue-chip automakers Toyota and Honda, down 3.5% and 4.3% respectively.

Chinese shares - which have been fairly well supported this month as the number of new cases in the country began to fall - also took a knock.

About 10 countries have reported their first virus cases over the past 24 hours, including Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy.

Fears of a major economic slump sent oil prices to their lowest in more than a year, and the threat has prompted investors to rapidly step up bets the U.S. Fed will cut interest rates as soon as next month.

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