MiningMX
MINING shares were among the sectors worst hit by fears that China was failing to contain the coronavirus outbreak in which 80 people have so far died, said Bloomberg News.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled about 2%, with miners, airlines, luxury-goods makers and tech stocks taking a serious beating. All industry group were in the red, signaling just how worried traders are, the newswire said.
“Fear is the name of the game,” said Stephane Ekolo, an equity strategist at TFS Derivatives in London. “Market participants are taking some risks off the table as they are afraid of the potential economic implication of the virus outbreak.”
Mining shares slid 4.1%, their biggest drop on since August. Large diversified miners such as Anglo American, BHP Group, Glencore and Rio Tinto paced the retreat, alongside steelmakers ArcelorMittal and Evraz, as base metals tumbled on concerns that the spread of the coronavirus will weigh on demand, with China being the world’s largest consumer of commodities, the newswire said.
“This is now a sell first, ask questions later situation,” Alec Young, MD of global markets research at FTSE Russell told Bloomberg News.
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