Market destruction escalates as earnings disappear

Vesna Poljak, William McInnes and Tom Richardson

Mar 23, 2020 – 6.25pm

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Global sharemarkets were dealt another mighty blow after a long-awaited $US1.8 trillion ($3.1 trillion) rescue package was defeated by Democrats in the US Senate, and Australian businesses faced up to the reality of non-essential shutdowns, unleashing a torrent of profit warnings on the ASX.

Australian stocks fell 8.6 per cent at one point on Monday, finishing 5.6 per cent lower at 4546 points. That returns the market to 2012 levels and extends the decline to 36 per cent since the February 20 peak.

Vesna Poljak is the Companies editor. She was previously the Markets editor with a special interest in the investment industry, hedge funds and accounting. She is based in the Sydney newsroom.

William McInnes covers markets from Sydney including editing the Markets Live blog.

Tom Richardson writes and comments on markets including equities, debt, crypto, software, banking, payments, and regulation. He worked in asset management at Bank of New York Mellon and is a member of the CFA Society of the UK as a holder of the Investment Management Certificate.