JSE plunges; Covid-19, oil price war chase away global bulls; Eskom; Sasol; rand
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In today's headlines:
* South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as oil prices collapsed more than 30%, hitting chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest. It shed nearly 50% of its value;
* US stocks extended losses back past 7%, as a full-blown oil price war rattled financial markets already on edge over the spreading coronavirus. Treasury yields plummeted, crude sank more than 30% and credit markets buckled;
* The S&P 500 sank the most since the May 2010 flash crash and is now down 18% from its Feb. 19 all-time high, threatening to end the record-long bull market that began 11 years ago to the day, reports Bloomberg;
* The plunge in international oil prices has a potential upside for South Africa’s debt-stricken state power utility Eskom - lower costs;
* Sasol’s record share plunge on Monday, coming as the oil price slumped and just days after the company's credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service, is raising concern among investors that it may need to hold a rights offer as it struggles with an about $8bn debt burden;
* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa climbed to 16 as the continent’s two biggest economies announced more people tested positive for the disease;
* Irish authorities canceled the nation’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, as concern around the coronavirus outbreak escalated. The St. Patrick’s parade scheduled for March 17 in Dublin has been shelved; and
* South Africa’s rand plunged by almost 8% against the dollar on Monday, touching its weakest level on a closing basis since January 1980, as investors fled riskier assets,
* South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low on Monday, joining a global sell-off in riskier assets as oil prices collapsed more than 30%, hitting chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest. It shed nearly 50% of its value;
* US stocks extended losses back past 7%, as a full-blown oil price war rattled financial markets already on edge over the spreading coronavirus. Treasury yields plummeted, crude sank more than 30% and credit markets buckled;
* The S&P 500 sank the most since the May 2010 flash crash and is now down 18% from its Feb. 19 all-time high, threatening to end the record-long bull market that began 11 years ago to the day, reports Bloomberg;
* The plunge in international oil prices has a potential upside for South Africa’s debt-stricken state power utility Eskom - lower costs;
* Sasol’s record share plunge on Monday, coming as the oil price slumped and just days after the company's credit rating was cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service, is raising concern among investors that it may need to hold a rights offer as it struggles with an about $8bn debt burden;
* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in sub-Saharan Africa climbed to 16 as the continent’s two biggest economies announced more people tested positive for the disease;
* Irish authorities canceled the nation’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, as concern around the coronavirus outbreak escalated. The St. Patrick’s parade scheduled for March 17 in Dublin has been shelved; and
* South Africa’s rand plunged by almost 8% against the dollar on Monday, touching its weakest level on a closing basis since January 1980, as investors fled riskier assets,
