Global Markets: Equities drop as evidence mounts of deep global recession

On Wall Street, major benchmarks opened sharply lower after Trump warned late Tuesday that maintaining social distancing guidelines for the next 30 days would be a "matter of life and death"

World equity markets began the new quarter with steep losses on Wednesday as evidence mounted that the coronavirus pandemic was sending the global economy into a deep recession.
 

Traders headed for the safety of government bonds, the dollar and gold following sharp slowdowns in manufacturing activity in Japan and Germany, one day after data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to 3-year lows.

The pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> sank 2.7% [.EU], while MSCI's gauge