Overseas stocks performed even worse than the U.S. on Thursday.
The state of play: Europe’s benchmark index fell 11.5%, its worst day in history; Brazil’s Bovespa dropped as much as 20%, extending this year’s loss to nearly 50% in dollar terms; Canada’s benchmark TSX index lost 12%, for its worst day since 1940.
MSCI's All Country World Index, which tracks stock exchanges in 49 countries, fell by 9.5% and is now at its lowest level since early 2017.
The big picture: The losses are mounting because there has not yet been a coherent global policy response and perhaps, more importantly, nothing from the world's largest economy, analysts say.
"Market psychology is focused on a U.S. fiscal response, perhaps as a shorthand for U.S. leadership domestically and internationally in this moment of crisis," Marc Chandler, managing director at Bannockburn Global Forex, said in a note to clients.
Further, he added in a conversation with Axios: "The focus continues to be on the U.S. because the virus outbreak is growing fast and we seem to be behind the curve. We’re still the key country."