A coronavirus pandemic could hurt the global economy as much as the 2008 financial crisis, analysts have warned, as stock markets plunged again on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have both entered a “correction”, meaning a 10 per cent fall from a recent high.
If confirmed at the end of Thursday’s trading session in New York, the S&P will have experienced its fastest fall since the depths of the financial crisis. The Dow is also on course for its worst week since the crash.
Market turmoil was not restricted to the US. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index tumbled 3.5 per cent to 6801.9, adding to heavy losses already this week. France’s CAC 40 fell 2.6 per cent on the day and Germany’s Dax was down 2.7 per cent.
The panic sell-off came as analysts warned that a Coronavirus pandemic could cause a global economic shock as large as the financial crisis. » | Ben Chapman | Thursday, February 27, 2020
