JSE All Share Index in its biggest one-day dive since 2016

February 26, 2020 Siyabonga Mtangana

The JSE on Monday suffered its biggest intra-day fall since 2016 as the benchmark index extended its slump to -4.28 percent amid fears of increasing coronavirus cases outside China sparked a global trade-off and concerns that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s Budget might not avert a Moody’s downgrade. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

JOHANNESBURG – The JSE on Monday suffered its biggest intra-day fall since 2016 as the benchmark index extended its slump to -4.28 percent amid fears of increasing coronavirus cases outside China sparked a global trade-off and concerns that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s Budget might not avert a Moody’s downgrade.

The risk hardened as the epidemic spread to more than 30 countries, with South Korea reporting a jump in infections and Italy locking down an area of 50 000 people near Milan.

The rand weakened to as much as R15.18 to the dollar from Friday’s close of R15 after the IMF late revised its global and Chinese growth expectations for 2020 lower on Friday to 3.2 percent year on year from 3.3 and 5.6 percent from 6 percent. The JSE All Share Index eased 4.28 percent to 54 881.56 points, and the JSE Top 40 took a beating, dragging losses to 4.46 percent to 49 282.53 points.

“Investors have sold out of shares for five Fridays in a row, because they were unwilling to hold on over the weekend in the likelihood of bad news about the coronavirus,” said London Capital Group head of research Jasper Lawler.

Naspers, which holds about a third of the local bourse value, declined 4.24 percent, while luxury goods giant Richemont fell 2.77 percent.

Source: iol.co.za

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