Stocks plunge on JSE as fears over coronavirus mount
Markets were shocked overnight, with the price of Brent crude oil spiralling down around 30%.
JOHANNESBURG - A perfect storm involving an oil price war and fears from the coronavirus has seen stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) plunging to a more than four-year low.
The JSE has joined a global sell-off in riskier assets.
Markets were shocked overnight, with the price of Brent crude oil spiralling down around 30%.
This has seen Sasol's share price plunged about 44% on Monday.
A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has seen prices drop to around $35 a barrel.
The oil price had already been under pressure due to the spread of the coronavirus.
There have also been widespread losses on the JSE with the all-share index losing more than 5% following fears of the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Mining stocks also took a hit as silver, palladium platinum and gold prices fell.
The mining index slumped 7.14%.
The rand has also lost major ground to the dollar, recovering to just under R16 to the greenback.
