Brazil: Stocks plunge in new virus rout

[SAO PAULO] The Sao Paulo stock exchange plunged more than 10 per cent on Wednesday and temporarily halted trading for the sixth time in eight sessions as the coronavirus pandemic continued to batter world markets.

The Ibovespa index fell 10.26 per cent, triggering circuit breakers that temporarily suspend trading in case of a massive sell-off.

Despite the announcement of economic stimulus measures in Brazil, as well as the United States and Europe, Latin America's largest stock exchange hit its lowest level since 2017.

The biggest losers included airline Azul, which was down nearly 33 per cent, and travel company CVC, which was down more than 27 per cent.

The Brazilian real weakened 2.3 per cent, to 5.12 to the dollar.

Brazil announced a stimulus package on Monday night of 147 billion reals (nearly S$43.3 billion) in emergency spending to stave off the impact of the pandemic.

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But despite such measures in Brazil and beyond, the pandemic continued to fuel fears of a deep global recession.

AFP