MARKET WRAP: JSE has biggest drop of April as sentiment turns on economic data and US bank loans

The JSE’s rally turned out to be a false dawn, with the bourse dropping on Wednesday by the most this month after economic data and corporate results in the US gave a glimpse of the severe pain the Covid-19 pandemic is inflicting.

SA stocks, which jumped 3.9% on Tuesday and reached the highest intraday level since March 11, dropped with their counterparts as retail sales and factory output in the US plunged. The declines also came a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expects the global economy to shrink by levels not seen since the wake of the Great Depression.