BRACING

Markets Fall, Volatility Expectations Rise as Stock Exchanges Digest Trump’s Diagnosis

Stocks shudder, oil plummets, and gold rises as news of Trump’s infection rocks financial markets.

Global markets fell and volatility expectations rose Friday morning as traders digested the news of Donald Trump’s infection with the coronavirus. Oil prices, which have already taken a hit on concerns of falling demand, fell further Friday, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, down 3.2 percent to $39.62 a barrel at one point. European stock exchanges opened lower, with the region-wide Stoxx 600 down 0.8 percent, London’s FTSE 100 down 0.7 percent and Germany’s Dax down 1 percent after the opening bell. In the Asia-Pacific region, Tokyo’s benchmark Topix dropped 1 percent after earlier rising by nearly the same level, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.4 percent. Trading was choppy in U.S. stock index futures several hours before the opening bell on Wall Street, but signs pointed to the S&P 500 being likely to open down around 1 percent. With risk avoidance front of mind, traders flocked to safe haven gold, one of the few assets in positive territory, up 0.44 percent at $1,913 per ounce.