By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- There was nowhere to hide on Monday in Europe’s stock markets, with all of the continent’s main indices falling by over 6% in the worst intraday movement since the panic of 2008.
The spread of the coronavirus – and draconian public health measures to halt it – had already pre-programmed markets for a rough ride. What made it many times worse was the rout in crude oil markets as Saudi Arabia began an all-out campaign to regain market share by slashing its official selling prices. Brent crude futures fell over 32% at one stage before rebounding to be down ‘only’ 20% by 5 AM ET (0900 GMT).
The benchmark Stoxx 600 fell 22.4 points or 6.1% to 344.60, while the U.K. FTSE 100 fell 7.1% and the Italian FTSE MIB, at the epicenter of Europe's largest Covid-19 outbreak, fell 10%.
The worst hit were not oil and gas majors, but the service companies that depend on their business. U.K.-based Hunting (LON:HTG) fell 26%, while Norway’s Seadrill (OL:SDRL), which only emerged from bankruptcy two years ago, lurched back towards it with another 24% slide.
The majors suffered too, though, as their liquidity made them one of the easiest stocks to turn into cash on a morning of indiscriminate selling. BP (LON:BP) stock fell 18% while Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) fell 21%.
The travel sector also underperformed, with tour operator Tui AG NA (DE:TUIGn) stock falling 13.7% and French hotel group Accor (PA:ACCP) tumbling 9.0%. Miners such as Glencore (LON:GLEN) and BHP Billiton (LON:BHPB) fell by over 15%. Banks tumbled, as further monetary easing from the European Central Bank - and a bigger wave of corporate defaults - became a near-inevitability. Unicredit (MI:CRDI) fell 14.5%, while Lombardy-based Banco BPM (MI:BAMI) slid another 18% after losing 25% last week.
Paul Donovan, chief economist with UBS Global Wealth Management, noted in a podcast that oil price wars ultimately only transfer wealth from oil producers to oil consumers. However, the benefits to the latter generally only feed through into stock markets in calmer times. The International Air Travel Association noted last week that the benefit, for example, to airlines of lower fuel prices in no way outweigh the demand destruction caused by fear of the coronavirus.
Over the weekend, Germany’s Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) appealed to the German government for help after slashing its operating capacity by 50% while the virus wreaks havoc on the travel sector.
The German government late on Sunday approved its first virus-related stimulus measures, earmarking 12 billion of euros for subsidies to companies who have to reduce their staff’s working hours.
Another sector worse hit than most on Monday was luxury, due to the concentration of manufacturing facilities in northern Italy, which was effectively placed under quarantine at the weekend.
Moncler stock fell 11.5%, while Gucci owner Kering (PA:PRTP) stock fell 8.4% and LVMH (PA:LVMH) stock fell 7.3%.
U.K. supermarket chain Tesco (LON:TSCO) was a rare name in the black, rising 0.2% after agreeing to sell its businesses in south-east Asia for a surprisingly robust price.