ADX briefly shuts trading halls as precaution against virus spread

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) said it is temporarily closing its trading hall in its main offices in Abu Dhabi as well as those in the other Emirates until further notice. This was taken by ADX as a precautionary measure to protect public health in the United Arab Emirates and ensure the health and safety of visitors, the bourse said.

ADX said in a statement that this decision is in line with the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO) to restrict public gatherings and has been taken as a preventative measure to mitigate against the current global viral outbreak.

“Trading operations will not be affected by the closure of the trading halls as ADX offers various channels traditional as well as digital from which investors can trade,” said Khalifa Al Mansouri, Chief Executive of ADX.

Dubai Financial Market spokesperson said it is business as usual at its trading halls as of today.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index dropped 4.8 per cent or 98 points to 1,933.72, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) fell 3.5 per cent to 3,786.47 points.

“Travel restrictions imposed by countries are now not a matter of if but when and who’s next,” said Edward Bell, commodity analyst at Emirates NBD. “We don’t think the dust has entirely settled yet.”

The US has announced a state of emergency, France and Spain have imposed lockdowns to try and control the spread of the virus and several additional countries have imposed border closures.

The UAE, which has reported 85 coronavirus infections but no deaths, and other Gulf Arab states are intensifying measures to halt the virus as the number of cases rises. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have taken the most drastic steps, cancelling all international flights.

Elsewhere in the GCC, the region’s largest bourse – Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul – slipped 0.3 per cent and the benchmark in Jordan dipped 0.2 per cent, making the two faring comparatively better than its peers in the province on Sunday. Others in the region continued to drop at a rapid pace with the top index in Bahrain down 3.9 per cent, benchmark in Qatar down 3.9 per cent, indices in Oman and Kuwait down 2.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively.

Another risk weighing on sentiment was the price of crude, given that oil markets collapsed last week under the weight of the Saudi-Russia price war. Even as both Brent and WTI contracts recorded their largest weekly decline since the global financial crisis, prices rebounded slightly on Friday. “At the moment uncertainty in markets is paramount and the modest rally we saw on Friday for both Brent and WTI— amid a surge in equity prices too—probably reflects positioning more than fundamentals,” Bell added.