US stocks fell more than 4 per cent on Thursday, extending a sell-off to its sixth day and closing in correction territory, as pressure grew on the Federal Reserve and other central banks to cut rates in response to the coronavirus.
The S&P 500 suffered its worst day since August 2011, ending at its low for the day, down 4.4 per cent. That marked a 12 per cent decline since a peak last week — more than the 10 per cent fall that traders define as a correction.
The Stoxx 600 index of European shares had earlier dropped 3.8 per cent, leaving European markets set for their worst week since the eurozone sovereign debt crisis in 2011. London’s FTSE 100 fell 3.5 per cent.