European equity futures tumbled more than 7% and Dow Jones and Nasdaq contracts slumped by the daily limit, while Hong Kong shares headed into a bear market. Investors were underwhelmed by Trump’s prime-time address where he announced a number of stimulus measures, including urging Congress to approve an undefined payroll tax relief measure, saying he is confident the U.S. will reduce the threat to people.
“When you constrict travel or encourage social distancing you effectively curtail a great deal of economy activity, as we’ve seen in China and we’re seeing in Italy now,” Timothy Moe, chief Asia-Pacific equity strategist at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg TV. “If more of that comes to the U.S., which looks as though it is the case, you get near-term concerns about a downturn in the economy in the short-term.