Market rout: Too late to panic?

This week, SA investors woke up to a coronavirus-inspired bloodbath on financial markets, as panic selling prompted a global flight to safe-haven assets such as gold and US bonds.On Monday, oil prices crashed 31% in the biggest drop since the Gulf War. It sent the JSE down more than 6%, taking its year-to-date loss to over 13%.International markets weren’t spared either: £130bn in market value was wiped off the FTSE 100 within minutes of opening; European stocks plunged 9%; and the S&P 500 opened 7% down, triggering a temporary trading halt.For retail investors nursing battered retirement portfolios, the question is whether it’s time to flee the carnage — or is it already too late to panic?”Is there a chance that this could go lower? Yes. But you’ve got to distinguish between what’s possible and what’s probable,” says Galileo Capital executive director Warren Ingram. “We’re advising clients who have cash available to invest to buy faster than they probably would’ve done before the ….