Stocks across the globe fell on Friday after a historic three-day run-up, as skittish investors kept indices on track for their worst quarterly performance since 2008.
US President Donald Trump signed into law a $2.2-trillion aid package to help the world’s largest economy cope with the downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month lockdown.
Deaths, infections
More than 6,15,600 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 28,316 have died, according to a tally by news agency Reuters.
Europe
Spain’s death toll rose by 832 cases overnight to 5,690, the health ministry said on Saturday, marking a new high in the daily rise in fatalities. The total number of those infected rose to 72,248.
Britain said 1,019 people had died by Friday afternoon, a rise of 260 on the total 24 hours earlier. The number of confirmed cases was 17,089 as of 0900 GMT (2:30 pm in India) on Saturday.
A drive-through testing facility for health workers has begun operating in the car park of a popular resort near London as Britain seeks to ramp up testing for those on the frontline of the epidemic.
Germans have been largely compliant with rules to prevent the coronavirus spread, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, as her chief of staff said the shutdown would not be eased before April 20.
The number of confirmed cases in Germany has risen to 48,582 and 325 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.
Italy recorded 919 deaths from coronavirus, the highest daily toll anywhere in the world, while the number of confirmed cases eclipsed the total in China.
Americas
The US House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2.2-trillion aid package and Mr Trump quickly signed it into law.
Confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States reached 1,00,040 on Friday, the highest number in the world, a Reuters tally showed.
Mr Trump on Friday invoked emergency powers to require General Motors Co to build much-needed ventilators for coronavirus patients after he accused the largest US automaker of “wasting time” during negotiations.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro cast doubt on Sao Paulo’s death toll from coronavirus and accused the state governor of manipulating the numbers for political ends, without giving evidence for his claims.
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