Markets fall, March low “will get taken out”

Markets fell sharply on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 sank 4.4 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 tumbled 2.9 percent and the Nikkei 225 plunged 4.5 percent.

DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said on Tuesday that the market was set to fall and that the March low “will get taken out”.

“Take out the low of March and then we’ll get a more enduring low,” he said.

US President Donald Trump warned late Tuesday that a “very, very painful” two weeks lies ahead for the country as the White House released new projections for 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US from the COVID-19 pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.

Elsewhere, Italy reported another 727 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing its total death toll to 13,155, while Spain reported 864 deaths, bringing its total to 9,053.

France reported 509 new deaths on Wednesday to become the fourth country to pass the 4,000 coronavirus deaths threshold after Italy, Spain and the US.