In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed around 1.4% lower. The index had earlier fallen as much as 2.8%. Basic resources and autos were among the worst performing sectors. Hellofresh was among the top gainers, jumping over 5% after JPMorgan upgraded the German meal-kit company’s stock. Hugo Boss shares rose 2.8% after the company reported a fall in annual profit for 2019, but lifted its dividend and offered optimistic 2020 guidance.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell to a fresh eight-week low as traders bet the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further, after slashing them by 50 basis points this week in an emergency move to shield the economy from the effects of coronavirus. The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, a day after the Bank of Canada delivered its biggest interest rate cut in more than 10 years and signaled it was ready to ease further because of the coronavirus outbreak.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged lower on Thursday as the coronavirus epidemic showed no signs of slowing, with deaths mounting globally, but losses were limited as major producers agreed on deeper output cuts to bolster prices. OPEC agreed to cut oil output by an extra 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2020, its deepest cut since the 2008 financial crisis, but made its action conditional on Russia and others joining in. Brent crude fell by 24 cents, or 0.5%, to $50.89 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets stock indexes fell sharply on Thursday as the swift spread of the coronavirus in the United States led California to declare an emergency, while airline stocks were hammered by crippled travel demand. The S&P 500 was down 1.91%, at 3,070.29. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.52%, at 8,880.81. Cruise operators Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sunk between 10.5% and 13.3% as health officials screened people on a ship linked to the death in California.

In Bond Markets Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield fell to a new six-month low on Thursday, as sentiment in stock markets soured and caution in the face of the coronavirus outbreak steered investors back to safe-haven debt markets. The yield on Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund, regarded as one of the safest assets in the world, fell to -0.68% – a six-month lows. Yields on most higher-rated euro zone bonds also fell 2-3 bps , but weaker southern European bonds came under renewed selling pressure.