| schema:articleBody
| - Fears of a second coronavirus wave and a warning that fiscal support may be needed to prevent lasting damage to the US economy from the coronavirus crisis helped push stocks lower on Wednesday. Wall Street's main indices slid after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US economic recovery may be slower than desired in the aftermath of the pandemic, but should rebound "substantially" once the outbreak is reined in. As the shutdowns drag on, they could cause "lasting damage" to the US economy and more policies may be needed to deal with that possibility, including spending beyond the nearly $3 trillion already approved by Congress, he warned. "Additional fiscal support could be costly, but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery," Powell said in a speech. European stocks were also being mauled over concerns of a second wave of virus infections. In the eurozone, Frankfurt lost 1.7 percent and Paris 1.9 percent, while Madrid and Milan both retreated around 1.0 percent. Meanwhile, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 1.0 percent as official data showed the British economy contracted by 2.0 percent in the first quarter on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak. That was the worst quarterly slump since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2008. Yet the British pound edged ahead against the dollar and euro, with analysts saying the figure was better than expectations of a 2.5-percent contraction. "The UK's GDP crashed, and this is the reason that the FTSE 100 index is trading lower today," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam. "Overall, the mood in the European equity markets is negative." Asian equities also fell again after US President Donald Trump's top coronavirus adviser warned Tuesday that easing lockdown measures too early could spark another dangerous wave of infections and batter any economic recovery. US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said in congressional testimony that reopening businesses and communities too early risked damaging recent progress in containing the disease. He said federal authorities had developed guidelines on how to safely reopen activities, with a sustained 14-day decrease in cases as a vital first step. Sentiment was also dented after lawmakers in Washington proposed giving the president powers to impose fresh sanctions if Beijing does not give a "full accounting" for the coronavirus outbreak. The recent optimism that has flowed through markets -- helped by trillions of dollars in worldwide stimulus and central bank backstopping -- has been given a jolt by data showing fresh outbreaks in South Korea, China and Germany. "There is rising apprehension as various economies start to take baby steps out of lockdown that a secondary wave on infections, will cause politicians to slam on the brakes, and bring an end to the wave of optimism that has seen equity markets trade strongly off their March lows," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 5,933.09 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.7 percent at 10,633.49 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.9 percent at 4,388.82 Madrid - IBEX 35: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,697.90 Milan - FTSE MIB: DOWN 1.1 percent at 17,368.67 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1. percent at 2,8 New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,633.38 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 20,267.05 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,180.30 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 2,898.05 (close) Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $30.02 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $25.84 per barrel Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0870 from $1.0848 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.96 yen from 107.14 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2292 from $1.2260 Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.42 pence from 88.49 pence burs-rl/txw
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)