Global market freefall CONTINUES as European bourses open to bearish trading

Stock markets in Europe are opening to a downward trend, following a plunge in Asia. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 6.1 right after stock exchanges opened in London, Paris, and Frankfurt.

Germany’s DAX index fell 7.8 percent after the Frankfurt Stock Exchange opened trading on Monday, and is projected to have its biggest daily drop in 18 years.

London’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 was down more than eight percent, with stocks of oil companies among those hit hardest by the collapse.

France’s CAC 40 dove 7.7 percent, with oil giant Total and metal maker ArcelorMittal plummeting over 15 percent.

Borsa Italiana’s main index FTSE MIB fell by 10.5 percent, apparently reflecting traders’ fears over the toll the rampaging Covid-19 virus epidemic could take on the Italian economy. Among European nations, Italy has been hit hardest by the infection.

Earlier on Monday, Asian equities collapsed amid concerns over an economic slowdown due to the spread of the coronavirus and a 31-percent plunge in the price of oil, unseen since the 1991 Gulf War.

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