Global stock markets plunge despite drastic action by governments as coronavirus paralyses economies

World equities continued to fall on Monday, even as the US Federal Reserve slashes rates to zero and launches a massive quantitative easing program to try to offset the coronavirus impact on the global economy.

European stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, reacting to the shutdown taking place on the continent as efforts continue to contain the outbreak. Spain has imposed a 15-day nationwide lockdown, banning its 46 million citizens from all non-essential movement. France and Germany have strengthened their borders in order to contain the spread of the virus.

London’s FTSE 100 index opened Monday’s trading over eight percent lower as the British government is facing growing calls to take more drastic measures to tackle the crisis. Germany’s DAX is down nearly nine percent and France’s CAC lost over 10 percent.

Australia led Asian markets lower with the S&P/ASX 200 index down over nine percent. India’s Sensex is losing over five percent, China’s Shanghai Composite closed over three percent lower, Hong Kong’s main index is down over four percent, and Japan’s Nikkei closed over two percent down.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to drop by over 1,000 points despite action taken by the Federal Reserve this weekend. The Fed announced on Sunday that it plans to cut rates to zero and launch a massive $700 billion quantitative easing program to add liquidity to the markets amid a massive sell-off.

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