Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - The most important German stock index Dax fell on Friday by more than 5 percent to 11,743.16 points. Concerns about the consequences of the spread of corona virus have been weighing on the financial markets worldwide for days and have already pushed the stock exchanges in Asia deeper into the minus in the morning.
With a DAX loss of a good 12 percent since last Friday, investors are experiencing the worst week since the Greek debt crisis began in summer 2011. The record high of 13,795 points from the previous week does not seem to be attainable again in the current unrest on the market.
The novel corona virus is spreading more and more not only in Germany. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday that the new pathogen had "pandemic potential" and could "get out of control" without the right measures. Even if medical experts such as the chair of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, recall that the vast majority of infected people only experience symptoms similar to colds - the consequences for the economy are already unforeseeable.
The experts at the investment bank JPMorgan are not expecting the wave of diseases to peak until mid-March - but with caution. The spread is too different and difficult to predict depending on population density, medical and hygienic standards or just the weather.
Prices also fell further on Asian stock exchanges on Friday. After the Dow Jones Industrial had lost almost 1200 points in New York the previous day, the Nikkei index for 225 leading stocks on Asia's leading exchange in Tokyo also fell further on Friday. At the end of trading, the stock market barometer recorded a full discount of 805.27 points or 3.67 percent and started the weekend at 21,142.96 points. This is the lowest level since September 5 last year.
The markets in China also fell significantly. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.71 percent and ended the day at 2880.30 points. The Shenzhen Component Index fell even more significantly by 4.80 percent to the closing level of 10,980.78 points. The prices on the Seoul stock exchange also fell by more than 3 percent compared to the previous day. The leading index Kospi fell by 67.88 points or 3.3 percent to the closing level of 1987.01.
