The SA Daily
09 April 2020
All the world is down
Shireen Darmalingam
- To cushion the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and central banks around the globe have responded quickly with various measures. As stabilisation efforts get underway, investors will remain cautious though, at least until there is more clarity on whether the world can flatten the outbreak curve sustainably and restart the global economy, as no country has been left unscathed.
- Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed financial markets, economic trends, and market sentiment since the first case of it in China late last year. However, in recent days, on hopes of this pandemic stabilizing in the worst-hit countries, equity markets have gained some ground, with Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 up on the day yesterday.
- Still, global equity markets this year have performed dismally, with the US hardest hit by the virus; confirmed cases there now near half a million. The DJIA is down nearly 20% since January.
- The virus has also raged across Europe, battering equity markets on the EU bloc. The FTSE 100 has lost nearly 25% since January, and the Parisian CAC 40 and the German DAX too have lost significant value.
- The JSE All Share Index (JSE ALSI) has lost 18.2% since January, and Asian equity markets too are down.
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