Coronavirus: Latest updates as markets plunge
Hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped off Gulf markets on Sunday after they were hit with their biggest one-day fall sell-off in 15 years. More than $180bn was wiped off from the region's biggest bourse, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, while trading in the Kuwait Premier Market index was suspended for the second time in six days after hitting a daily decline limit of 10 per cent in company share values.
The rapid downward decline in local markets followed a slump across global markets on Friday due to fears of the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. Globally more than $7 trillion was wiped out last week across markets. The dip in Gulf markets accelerated because oil prices plunged 10 per cent on Friday after an alliance between Opec and a group of non-Opec members including Russia, failed to agree on a deal to deepen production cuts in response to falling demand.
"GCC markets lost $211.5 billion, of which Saudi Arabia alone lost $184.5bn in value," M.R. Raghu, managing director of Marmore Mena Intelligence, a division of Kuwait Financial House, Markaz, said. Although historical data is limited, GCC markets have not witnessed a one-day fall this big since 2005, he added.
The Dubai Financial Market closed 7.9 per cent lower. Market heavyweight Emaar Properties fell 9.7 per cent and Dubai's biggest lender, Emirates NBD, saw its shares fall by 9.6 per cent.
The Abu Dhabi Securities market index also dropped 5.4 per cent, with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank falling 10 per cent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dropping 9 per cent and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as Taqa, declining 9.9 per cent.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All-Share Index closed 8.3 per cent lower. Saudi Aramco traded 9.1 per cent lower, falling below its IPO listing price. Some 191 companies on the exchange saw their values fall, with only two companies increasing in value.
The decline in markets on Monday was sparked as much by the expectation that oil prices could fall further as by the failure of the Opec+ alliance to agree a deal, according to Charles-Henry Monchau, chief investments officer at Dubai-based Al Mal Capital. Saudi Aramco is cutting prices further and is expected to ramp up production as the current agreement expires.
Mr Monchau said Brent crude prices could fall as low as $20-$25 per barrel if the battle for market share intensifies, which could have "very bad consequences for the whole region".
"The region remains dependent on government spending, and weaker oil prices ... means lower spending," he said.
Lower oil prices could have a knock-on effect on credit markets, where spreads between investment-grade and high-yield debt have already been widening.
"Credit markets are very interlinked," Mr Monchau said. "When the credit market went into a massive correction in 2014-15 it was initially triggered by energy [companies], and there was a spillover into other industries. If the credit market weakens, all risk assets weaken," he added.
"There is clearly risk-off within the GCC, where oil still remains the single-largest income contributor," said Nishit Lakhotia, head of research for Bahrain-based investment bank Sico, who argued that banks, in particular, will come under pressure.
"The recent 50 basis point emergency Fed cuts and expectation of further cuts in the near term implies pressure on net interest margins for the banks," he said.
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company%C2%A0profile
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World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Read more about the coronavirus
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5