Oil, virus fears slam key Brazilian stock market index

The IBOVESPA, the Brazilian stock exchange, fell 12.7 percent on Monday. This followed the global pattern of dramatic falls due to the drop in oil prices and the crisis resulting from COVID-19.

The Brazilian real kept falling in the face a strong dollar, closing on 4.73 reais per dollar, even after the intervention of the Central Bank.

On its website, the Brazilian stock exchange said on Monday that "due to the triggering of the Circuit Breaker (oscillation of -10% from Ibovespa's closing level on the previous day), all trading in the equities segment is interrupted for 30 minutes. During this period, orders that are not participating in auction can be cancelled."

Fear has gripped global financial markets, sending stocks, bond yields and oil prices diving.

Latin America is bracing itself for a fallout that could test the resilience of the beleaguered region's already sluggish economies.