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Looking for the new normal

The spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has significantly impacted ASX listed securities over the past few months. From its peak on 20 February, the ASX listed market has declined 26.2% over the 32 trading sessions to 6 April 2020. At its lowest point on 23 March, the market was down 36.5%, before staging a recovery over the past 10 trading sessions.

Listed Sector Performance

The following table provides an overview of the key indices in the S&P/ASX 200 and their performance since the market peaked on 20 February 2020:

  • The Property Trusts and Energy sectors have been the worse hit, with declines of 39.0% and 38.6% respectively. The Property sector has been the hardest hit, with the loss of rental income from retail properties being the highest concern.

  • Since 20 February, the market took just 22 trading sessions to reach a low on 23 March. The Consumer Staples sector reached a low on 27 March, over 26 trading sessions.

  • Not surprisingly, the most resilient sectors of the market have been Consumer Staples (-9.6%), Healthcare (-9.6%) and Utilities (-10.1%).