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New US-China Tensions Put European Markets in Tailspin

VOA News

   An escalating war of words between the United States and China over the
   origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic sent European markets
   crashing to start the trading week.

   The CAC-40 in Paris is down just over 4% and the Frankfurt's DAX index
   has lost 3.6% in midday trading, while London's FTSE is just slightly
   lower at 0.3%.

   Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost a staggering 4% and the KOSPI in Seoul
   lost 2.6%, while the index in Sydney was the sole bright spot in the
   region, gaining 1.4%.

   The markets in Japan, China and Thailand were closed for holidays.

   Investors are worried that the trade tensions between the world's two
   biggest economies are about to be reignited over accusations by the
   Trump administration that the coronavirus first detected in the central
   city of Wuhan late last year originated in a biosecurity lab, despite a
   conclusion by the U.S. intelligence community that the COVID-19 virus
   "was not manmade or genetically modified."

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