APStocks on Friday sank around the globe again as investors braced for more economic pain from the COVID-19 epidemic, sending US markets to their worst weekly finish since the 2008 financial crisis. The damage from the week of relentless selling was eye-popping: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged. Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, the two most valuable companies on the S&P 500, lost a combined US$300 billion. Investors increasingly expect the Fed to cut rates at its next policy meeting in the middle of this month. Its weekly loss was the biggest since an 18.2 percent drop in the week ending Oct. 10, 2008.

Source: Taipei Times February 29, 2020 15:56 UTC