Novel coronavirus spread across the world

Markets summary

Maltese market closed in the green on Friday, with MSE total index ending the session 0.454% higher to 9,443.594 points. The best performer was Mapfre Middlesea plc with a 2.63% surge, to close at 2.34, followed by 2.24% jump of Malta International Airport plc and 1.83% rise of Lombard Bank Malta plc with a closing price of 6.85 and 2.22 respectively. The biggest fall was seen from PG plc with a drop of 2.97% to close at 1.96, followed by 1.54% slid of MaltaPost plc with closing price 1.28.

European stocks fell sharply Friday, compounding losses amid fears that the coronavirus outbreak could usher in a global recession. By the end of trading, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down by 3.54% to 375.65, alongside a 3.86% fall for Germany's Dax to 11,890.35, while the FTSE Mibtel was 3.58% lower to 21,984.21.

US stocks turned in a somewhat mixed performance on Friday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 registering their worst weekly performances since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.39% at 25,409.36, while the S&P 500 was 0.82% softer at 2,954.22 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session mostly flat – up 0.01% at 8,567.37.

As the novel coronavirus spread across the world, new cases being reported daily

Belarus, Azerbaijan and Mexico has confirmed its first case of the virus. Five Ukrainians have also been infected, none of them in Ukraine. Georgia on Friday also announced a second case in its territory. A Georgian official said a number of people have been placed in quarantine in the past 24 hours, and it was possible that more cases of the coronavirus would emerge in coming days.

South Korea announced 315 new coronavirus cases late Friday, bringing the number of new cases announced throughout the day to 571 as the nation ramps up its testing.

French health officials have reported a significant uptick in novel coronavirus infections, with 20 new cases confirmed since Wednesday. French Health Minister Olivier Véran announced late Thursday that the total number of cases in France had risen from 18 to 38 in the past 24 hours.

Iran’s Health Ministry announced another big jump in the number of coronavirus cases, saying that 34 people are now known to have died and 388 people are infected.

Switzerland confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Tuesday. Since then, at least 14 more cases have been reported.

The more recent cases, however, have alarmed public health officials because they have appeared over a wide geographical area. Many of the new infections were linked to northern Italy — still Europe’s most impacted region, with confirmed 650 cases of the virus.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, Junior Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.