Worst global stocks sell-off in a decade

Panic over the Covid-19 fallout gripped global stock markets yesterday in the worst sell-off since the financial crisis a decade ago, while oil prices slumped in their worst drop since the Gulf War almost 30 years ago.

Investors appear braced for a further wave of selling despite the market betting the US federal reserve will soon match the ECB’s rock-bottom interest rates, as governments across Europe may follow Italy in taking costly quarantine measures.