Financial markets head for worst week since 2008 crash

Global stock markets are racing towards their worst week since the financial crisis 12 years ago on mounting fears coronavirus will derail trade and industry.

Asian stock markets have plunged further, deepening the financial gloom after the US Dow Jones suffered its biggest one-day drop in its history, down by almost 1,200 points

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell by an unusually wide margin of 3.7%.

The FTSE-100 of leading UK companies opened down by more than 3%, after having £152bn wiped off their value since Monday.

A growing list of major companies are issuing profit warnings and say factory shutdowns in China are disrupting supply chains, as countries around the world try to contain COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Travel bans and other control measures also are hurting sales in China, a major consumer market.

IAG, the owner of British Airways, and easyJet have both warned of weaker demand as a result of the crisis.

Read more via Sky News/ The Financial Times

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