Stock market plunges to historic lows

Global stocks fell sharply yesterday after the banks’ attempts to support economic growth failed to dispel investors’ fears over the coronavirus impact on the economy.
European and Asian stock indexes were down as much as 10%, as was the price of oil.
Germany’s DAX shed 9.1% to 8,396 points. The French CAC 40 sank 10.7% to 3,676. Milan lost 6% and Spain retreated nearly 8%. London’s FTSE 100 index lost 7% to 4,990.
The S&P 500 sank by almost 12%. The Dow fell nearly 2,997.10 points, breaking the grim record the markets set just a few days earlier.
Trading in Wall Street futures was halted after they fell by the maximum 5%.
The US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to a range between zero and 0.25%, and pledged to purchase government debt worth billions of dollars.
ING said this year’s growth might fall as low as 3.6%, the weakest since at least the 1970s.
Oil prices continued their nosedive amid a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Brent North Sea oil plunged more than 10%. Global oil prices are now below $30 a barrel, the lowest in four years.
Airlines also suffered heavy damage, with British Airways-parent IAG crashing 27% and Lufthansa off by 12%.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing major US airlines, asked the government for $50 billion in grants, loans and tax relief. US President Donald Trump has previously said the government is willing to support the country’s airlines, but it has yet to provide details on the aid.
There are some 169,000 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide. Most of the world’s 77,000 recovered patients are in China.