This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
Global Markets in Turmoil ¶
Global markets tumbled on Monday, June 15, 2020, as renewed fears of new coronavirus outbreaks sent stocks plummeting. The sell-off was led by a 4.8 percent drop in South Korea and a 3.5 percent fall in Tokyo.
Stocks in London, Frankfurt, and Paris opened more than 2 percent lower, with futures markets predicting the pain would spread to Wall Street. Futures that track the S&P 500 were predicting the index would open more than 3 percent lower.
The sell-off was spread broadly across markets, with oil and gold falling in early futures trading. Prices for U.S. Treasury bonds, which generally rise when market sentiment is weak, gained sharply, sending yields lower.
Investors were reacting in part to bad news out of China, where some monthly economic indicators were weaker than expected, and where officials are battling a new spate of cases in Beijing. In the United States, Arizona, Texas, and Florida reported higher numbers of new cases.
China's Economic Recovery Halted ¶
China had nearly eradicated the Covid-19 virus within its borders last month, but that was not enough to get the country's consumers spending again. With a new outbreak in Beijing over the past several days, a full economic recovery could be even farther away.
Restaurants, bars, and shopping malls were open across China last month except for a small area near the border with North Korea and Russia, which had a coronavirus outbreak in May. But retail sales nonetheless fell 2.8 percent nationwide in May compared to a year ago.
Movie Theaters Face Uncertain Future ¶
Warner Bros. pushed back the release of
