Stock markets plunge on coronavirus fears
NEW YORK - Stock markets tumbled worldwide on Monday with the 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average in New York losing more than 1,000 points amid growing concerns that the coronavirus epidemic stemming from China could also rage across Europe.
The Dow fell 1,031.61 points, or 3.5%, to end at 27,960.80, tracking dismal performances in European equity markets. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index shed 355.31 points, or 3.71%, to 9,221.28.
European stocks were also battered widely, with Italian benchmark stock index FTSE MIB finishing 5.4% lower than last Friday, as the death toll from the virus rose to six in the country.
In the South Korean stock market, the key index KOSPI plunged nearly 4% from late last week as the number of people testing positive for the pneumonia-causing disease has sharply increased in the country.
The Tokyo stock market was closed Monday for a national holiday.
After a two-day meeting in Riyadh through Sunday, the finance chiefs and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies showed their readiness to act together to mitigate impacts on the global economy from risks associated with the spread of the virus.
But investors were apparently left disappointed with a lack of specific measures to bolster economic growth and unloaded their holdings.