Stocks suffer their worst day since March, with the Dow plunging more than 1,800 points; European stocks close down 4% on gloomy Fed outlook, fears of a second virus wave; BELEX15 down light 0.28%, NBS cut kay rate to 1.25%
Stocks suffered their biggest one-day pull-back in three months on Thursday as traders grew concerned about the number of coronavirus cases increasing in some states that are reopening up from lockdowns. Shares that have surged recently on hopes for a smooth reopening of the economy led the declines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,861.82 points, or 6.9%, to close at 25,128.17. The S&P 500 slid 5.9% to 3,002.10 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.3%. to end the day at 9,492.73. The major averages posted their worst day since March 16, when they all dropped more than 11%. The S&P 500 also logged in its first three-day losing streak since early March.
Thursday’s moves also followed the Federal Reserve warning on Wednesday the U.S. economy will contract by 6.5% in 2020 before expanding by 5% next year. The central bank also said it will keep rates at currently low levels through 2022.

European stocks closed sharply lower Thursday as investors digested the latest comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve and fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by 4% provisionally, with autos plunging 6.9% as all sectors and major bourses tumbled into negative territory.
Lufthansa stock fell 9% after the German airline announced that up to 26,000 employees could be at risk of job losses.
Renault was the second-worst individual performer, plummeting 14% after Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard told the French Parliament a further state cash injection into the car maker “isn’t on the table.”
Unilever was one of only a handful of European stocks in positive territory, gaining half a percent after the company said it would merge its dual-headed structure to allow for greater M&A flexibility.

Serbian BELEX15 was down only light 0.28% as Komercijana lost 2.2%, while NIS added 0.9% even though oil price faced 8% drop yesterday. The most active was Komercijana as well, since it generated RSD 32m in volume. We may easily see bigger drop on the market today as a reaction to global sell mood.
At its meeting yesterday, the NBS Executive Board voted to continue monetary policy easing and cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%. In making such decision, the Executive Board had in mind that the scale of the global crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) calls for additional monetary policy support to the domestic economy, in order to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis and boost economic growth in the period ahead.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika