BSE stands tall as global markets crumble

Since late January, the pandemic has played havoc with global equity markets, as investors have rushed to dump their holdings either already experiencing earnings losses or anticipating them.

Major equity markets such as the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and FTSE 100 and regionally, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), have all fallen deeply, wiping off trillions of US dollars in value for investors. By Wednesday afternoon, the Dow Jones was down 27% in the year-to-date, the S&P 500 down 24%, FTSE 100 down 27% and the JSE down about 25%. By comparison, the BSE’s Domestic Companies Index (DCI) was about 1.5 percent up for the year to Monday. The DCI retreated on Tuesday to a year-to-date gain of 0.87% due to losses in Letshego and First National Bank Botswana, which shed five thebe each.