Major European stock indexes on Monday fall by 4-6 percent over concerns about the pace of global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on the global economy
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2020) Major European stock indexes on Monday fall by 4-6 percent over concerns about the pace of global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on the global economy.
As of 08.11 GMT, the UK's FTSE 100 index fell by 4.62 percent with 5,118.20 points. France's CAC 40 was down 4.58 percent to 3929.71 points, while Germany's DAX decreased by 5.1 percent to 8,760.95 points.
Spain's IBEX 35 index dropped 4.97 percent to 6,302 points, while Italy's FTSE MIB was down 5.01 percent to 15,149.5 points.
Last week, the main European indices saw their biggest percentage weekly fall ever, losing 17-23 percent by Friday close.
Central banks' efforts to stimulate the economy failed to improve the sentiment. The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank made a coordinated decision to boost liquidity, reducing the rate on US dollar-denominated swaps by 25 basis points. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) also decided to increase its asset-buying program.
On Sunday, the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to a range from 0 to 0.25 percent and pledged to buy $700 billion in government and mortgage-related bonds to soften the consequences of the coronavirus.
