Global markets are in freefall Tuesday in reaction to more bad news surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic and jitters over worsening relations between the United States and China.
The FTSE in London is down 0.2% in midday trading, the CAC-40 in Paris is trading 1.6% lower, and Frankfurt’s DAX index is down 1.4%.
Asian markets were in negative territory across the board, with the Nikkei in Tokyo closing 0.8% lower, the Hang Seng in Tokyo down 1.1%, and Shanghai’s Composite index losing 0.8%.
Sydney’s S&P/ASX index was down 0.6%, the KOSPI index in Seoul finished 0.1% lower, and Taiwan’s TSEC index lost 2.5 points, but was virtually changed percentage-wise. Mumbai’s Sensex is down 1.8% in late afternoon trading.
Oil markets are also in a slide Tuesday, with U.S. crude selling at $39.69 per barrel, down one percent, with Brent crude selling at $42.40 per barrel, down 0.7%.
Investors were shaken Monday when California imposed a new set of strict coronavirus restrictions to blunt the state’s rising rate of daily new infections. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that it is rejecting China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea also grated investors' nerves.
Despite the gloomy outlook, all three U.S. indexes are trending positively ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell on Wall Street.
