Markets may fall further as coronavirus fears intensify; Dow falls 950 pts

Indian stocks could continue their slide following the sharp fall in US markets overnight. The Dow Jones plunged as much as 950 points in opening trade on Thursday, after US officials warned of the virus spread. It, however, recovered to trade at 26,717, down 240 points, as of 11.20 pm (IST).

The US stocks pared early losses, after the initial surge in angst (over the virus spread) that pushed US indices to their four-month lows. Bond yields remained at unprecedented levels.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have tumbled this week by as much 10 per cent from their all-time highs set this month, a so-called correction. 

Thursday’s 3.5-per-cent drop put the S&P on pace for its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The MSCI All-Country World Index fell to the lowest since October, while the Stoxx Europe 600 also entered a correction.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.24 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.13 per cent.

Hong Kong stocks, however,  reversed earlier losses to end higher, after Beijing indicated more support to bolster its economy. 

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng was up 82.13 points or 0.31 per cent to  26,778.62. Meanwhile,  China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.11 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.1 per cent to close trade at 2,054.89. Agencies