Worries over a surge of coronavirus cases in the United States and other nations have sent global financial markets mostly downward Monday.
In late afternoon trading in Europe, London’s FTSE is down 0.3%, the CAC-40 in Paris is down 0.7%, and the DAX in Frankfurt is 0.5% lower.
Earlier Monday in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei index ended the day’s trading session at 0.1% lower, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down 0.5%. Seoul’s KOSPI index is 0.6% lower.
The Sensex in Mumbai closed up 0.5%, while Taiwan’s TSEC index was 0.2% higher. Both Australia’s S&P/ASX and Shanghai’s Composite indices were virtually unchanged.
Oil markets are also losing ground, with U.S. crude selling at $39.50 per barrel, down 0.6%, and Brent crude, the global benchmark, selling at $41.97 per barrel, down 0.5%.
Markets are reeling after the World Health Organization on Sunday reported 183,000 new COVID-19 cases worldwide -- the largest one-day increase since the outbreak began.
WHO said Brazil led the way with nearly 55,000 new cases, followed by the United States with more than 36,000 and India with about 15,000 new cases.
Overall, the WHO says there are more than 8,963,000 cases worldwide and over 468,000 deaths.
