Ramla SoniGlobal stock and oil prices plunged as investors feared a second wave of coronavirus after countries started to ease lockdowns.
MSCI’s index of global shares was down 0.3 per cent, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.6 per cent.
Banks also performed low after several negative updates.
Shares in Germany’s Commerzbank slid 3.2 per cent and Dutch bank ABN Amro dropped 5.3 per cent after swinging to a loss in the first quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic drove up loan loss provisions.
Deutsche Bank fell 4.4 per cent on news that top managers will waive one month of fixed pay in an effort to cut costs.
However, in Asia MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, reversed earlier gains to fall 0.2 per cent.
Coronavirus affects markets
Oil markets, which have fallen significantly this year due to a collapse in demand and a supply glut, lost further ground.
US crude fell 1.6 per cent to $25.36 a barrel and Brent crude fell 2.6 per cent to $29.19 per barrel.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes traded at 0.6606 per cent. The two-year yield stood at 0.1629 per cent, above a record low of 0.1050 per cent reached on Friday.
At the same time, in Europe, the German 10-year government bond yield, which had risen around eight basis points since May 4, fell around three bps as demand for the safe debt increased.
