LONDON European stocks dived more than four percent in opening deals Monday as the coronavirus death toll continued to soar and US lawmakers failed to agree a trillion-dollar emergency package. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of major blue-chip companies tumbled 4.8 percent to 4,943.51 points, Frankfurt’s DAX shed 4.6 percent to 8,521.94 and the Paris CAC 40 sank 4.4 percent to 3,870.06, compared with Friday’s closing levels. Asian equities were also hammered despite vast economic stimulus efforts worldwide, with investors spooked once more by the relentless COVID-19 pandemic. “Markets are again showing stress on fears that the economic damage will be worse than anticipated and that the response by governments and central banks will not be enough to prevent a mammoth recession,” said analyst Neil Wilson at trading site.—APP
