Stock market crashes at opening bell

The São Paulo stock exchange opened up 0.8 percent—but the trend quickly reversed, and benchmark index Ibovespa is now down by roughly 4.5 percent.

After the number of Covid-19 deaths rose in Spain and Italy, and the U.S. Senate rejected a USD 1-trillion-plus coronavirus response bill, markets around the world have taken a nosedive. In the Asia-Pacific region, only Tokyo closed in the black. 

• According to news website LiveMint, “Indian stock markets today suffered its biggest one-day selloff as several states went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus cases in the country. Within less than one hour of market opening, trading on BSE and NSE had to halt as [benchmark index] Sensex hit the 10-percent lower circuit breaker.”

In Europe, markets have opened on a downward curve, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 falling 6.4 percent.

Last week, the Ibovespa index crashed by 18.8 percent —its worst performance since the 2008 financial crisis.

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