Global financial markets saw some of the sharpest falls in years on Monday after a rise in coronavirus cases renewed fears about economic slowdown.
In the US, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 posted their sharpest daily declines since 2018, with the Dow falling 3.5% or more than 1,000 points.
The S&P 500 ended the day 3.3% lower, while the Nasdaq sank 3.7%.
The UK’s FTSE 100 share index closed 3.3% lower, the sharpest drop since January 2016.
In Italy, which has seen Europe’s worst outbreak of the virus, Milan’s stock market plunged nearly 6%.
Japan’s Nikkei shed 3.7% for the biggest daily drop since late 2018 and was still down 2.8%, but just catching up to the global sell-off having been shut on Monday.
In contrast, the price of gold, which is considered less risky, hit its highest level in seven years at one point.
