South African stocks fell to a more than four year low on Monday with chemical and energy firm Sasol the hardest hit.
Matthew Larotonda reports.
South African shares tumble amid oil crash and coronavirus fears
Chemical and energy firm Sasol led a race to the bottom on Monday (March 9) as South African stocks plunged to a more than four-year low.
Shares in Sasol itself sank more than 44% to a six-and-a-half year low amid a global sell-off in riskier assets.
That came after oil prices plummeted by as much as a third on Monday as Saudi Arabia and Russia indicated they both intend to hike crude production whilst maintaining or cutting prices in a market already awash with oil.
But the decline in the Johannesburg All-Share Index and Top 40 Index was also compounded by fears that the impact from the fast-spreading coronavirus will intensify.
South Africa confirmed its first case on Thursday (March 5) - and by the weekend officials had announced two further cases.
Mining stocks also took a hit as silver, palladium, platinum and gold prices fell and the mining index slumped over seven percent.