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Asian stocks fell sharply Thursday amid worries about the strength of U.S. and European economies and the first American case of Ebola.
Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a public holiday. Pro-democracy protesters n Hong Kong are locked in a standoff with the government.
While health experts agree that the USA is not at risk for a large Ebola epidemic like the one affecting West Africa, some doctors are concerned that the infected patient was sent home from the hospital without treatment the first time he sought care.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index tumbled 2.6%. European markets pushed lower in early trades.
Several hours ahead of the opening bell, Wall Street stock futures were seeing slight gains.
Oil futures dropped nearly 1% to fall below $90 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Dow plunged 238.19 points, or 1.4%, to 16,804.71. The S&P 500 dropped 26.13 points, or 1.3%, to 1946.16 and the Nasdaq composite skidded 71.30 points, or 1.6%, to 4422.09.
Contributing: Associated Press, USA TODAY’s Liz Szabo.
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Asia stocks trade sharply lower