Stocks plummeted once again on Thursday after President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve both failed to quell concerns over the economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus, leading to a historic drop for the U.S. markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2,352.60 points lower, or 9.99%, at 21,200.62. The index had its worst drop since the 1987 “Black Monday” market crash, when it collapsed by more than 22%.The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5% to 2,480.64, joining the Dow in a bear market. The S&P 500 also had its worst day since 1987. The Nasdaq Composite closed 9.4% lower at 7,201.80.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) announced further flight cuts on Thursday due to tepid travel demand following the Covid-19 virus outbreak. The latest wave of capacity reduction - which will temporarily remove 15.6 per cent of capacity from its network - affects flights to destinations such as Rome and China. Most of the capacity cuts last until May, although a handful of flights, such as to Christchurch and San Francisco, are affected in June as well.

UNITED Hampshire US Reit, the first retail real estate investment trust (Reit) with US exposure here, opened for trading on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) mainboard at US$0.72 apiece, 10 per cent lower from its initial public offering price. The counter's latest trading price as at 2.04pm is US$0.71, with some 1.6 million shares changing hands.

ASCOTT Residence Trust (ART) has bought Quest serviced apartments in Sydney for A$46 million (S$41.5 million), which reflects a yield of mid 5 per cent. The Quest serviced residence, in Sydney’s second-largest business district of Macquarie Park, will fall under a master lease agreement and add to the stapled group's stream of stable income, said Beh Siew Kim, chief executive of ART's managers on Wednesday.

DEL Monte Pacific more than doubled its net profit to US$6.7 million for the third quarter ended Jan 31, 2020, from US$2.6 million a year ago. The strong performance was underpinned by higher retail sales, both in general trade and modern trade channels, the mainboard-listed food and beverage firm said on Wednesday.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR