Asian markets plummeted Monday due to growing fears that a second wave of coronavirus cases will prompt a new round of government lockdowns.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost 3.4% at its closing bell, with both the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Sydney’s S&P/ASX indices both down 2.1% in late afternoon trading.
Elsewhere in Asia, Seoul’s KOSPI index had lost a staggering 4.7%, while the Sensex in Mumbai was down 2.1% and Taiwan’s TSEC index was down 1%.
European markets are also getting off on the wrong foot Monday. London’s FTSE index is off 2%, while both the CAC-40 in Paris and the DAX index in Frankfurt are trending down 2.5%.
Oil markets are also taking a beating Monday, with U.S. crude selling at $34.71 per barrel, down 4.2%, and Brent crude, the international benchmark, down $37.53 per barrel, down 3.1%.
In stock futures trading, the Dow Jones plunged 800 points, or 3.1%, the S&P 500 was down 2.7%, and the Nasdaq is 2.2% lower.
After sustaining historic losses as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and brought the global economy to a virtual standstill earlier this year, global markets have rallied since March as governments imposed emergency stimulus measures and steadily reopened their economies as the spread of the virus appeared to subside.