Coronavirus: UAE, GCC markets decline; Kuwait suspends trading

Dubai - The Dubai bourse hit a 14-month low with all its blue-chip stocks witnessing sell-off on Sunday.

The UAE and other Gulf stock markets lost massively on Sunday, the first trading day of the week, due to increased worry about the growing number of coronavirus patients in the region and worldwide.
The Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange plunged 4.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, by mid-day on Sunday. The Dubai bourse hit a 14-month low with all its blue-chip stocks witnessing sell-off on Sunday. Barring Al Salam Sudan, all the shares on the Dubai fell.
The Abu Dhabi index's 3.6 per cent is its biggest intraday fall since January 2016. First Abu Dhabi Bank declined 4.3 per cent, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dived 8 per cent. Only three stocks on the Abu Dhabi bourse were up by mid-day trading while all the remaining listed companies were down.
The central bank of the UAE on Saturday advised banks to reschedule loans and reduce fees and commissions as part of measures to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak. The country has reported 21 people infected with the coronavirus, five of whom have recovered.
The GCC countries are putting restriction on the local events as well as restricting the movement of the people across the border in order to control coronavirus. A
Kuwait's bourse, which traded after a three session break, plunged 11 per cent, its biggest ever intraday fall, led by a 14.5 per cent drop in National Bank of Kuwait and a 10 per cent slide in Kuwait Finance House. The exchange said it had suspended trading for rest of the day due to the steep decline.
Kuwait, which recorded 45 people infected with the coronavirus, called on its citizens to avoid travelling over concerns about the spread of the disease, a health ministry official said at a media conference on Saturday.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com