ANALYSIS
This Monday can now be considered as the new "black Monday": world financial markets suffered their worst fall since 2008, due to the epidemic of coronavirus. For the first time since the implementation of a blocking system in 2013, the New York Stock Exchange had to suspend its activities for 15 minutes: the markets fell by more than 7% just after the opening. Suspensions have also occurred in Sao Paulo, Frankfurt or even Paris.
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The CAC40 thus fell by 8.37%, which represents the second biggest drop in its history. In Frankfurt, the DAX plummeted, losing 7.94% of its value, unheard of since September 11, 2001. Finally, the Milan stock market lost more than 11%. The VIX index, the "fear index" on the markets, experienced its highest level since the end of 2008.
Oil epidemic and prices
The reasons for this panic are to be found in terms of oil prices and the coronavirus epidemic. In the absence of an agreement with Moscow regarding a reduction in oil production, Saudi Arabia has decided to launch a real trade war by drastically lowering its prices. Oil stocks like Total have collapsed. At the same time, a strong impact of the coronavirus on the economy is anticipated: Italy is partly confined, the virus is developing in the United States and in France, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, made part of his concern. Optimism therefore has no reason to be on the main stock markets.