Shares, oil prices sink after Trump tests positive for virus
Washington: US stock futures and Asian shares fell Friday after President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9 per cent. Oil prices also slipped.
Trump tweeted news of his test results just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks had come down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week.
To say this potentially could be a big deal is an understatement, Rabobank said in a commentary. Anyway, everything now takes a backseat to the latest incredible twist in this US election campaign.
Trading in Asia was thin, with markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed. The Nikkei 225 index shed strong early gains, losing 0.8 per cent to 22,999.75 after the Tokyo Stock Exchange resumed trading following an all day outage due to a technical failure.
Reports that the Japanese government is preparing new stimulus measures to help the economy recover from a prolonged downturn worsened by the coronavirus pandemic provided only a temporary lift. Prices fell further after Trump's announcement.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1 per cent to 5,815.90. Shares in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia also fell.
On Thursday, the benchmark S&P 500 ended the day 0.5 per cent higher, at 3,380.80, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 per cent to 27,816.90 and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4 per cent to 11,326.51, as big tech-oriented stocks propped up the market, much as they have through the pandemic.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
