Dhaka stocks tumble on coronavirus shock

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Bangla Tribune Desk
Published : 14:31, Mar 09, 2020 | Updated : 16:13, Mar 09, 2020

FILE PHOTO/Mehedi HasanShares at the Dhaka Stock Exchange plunged on Monday (Mar 9) a day after Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases.

The key DSEX index plummeted as much as 6.5 percent, the biggest fall since the index was launched in 2013.

According to market insiders, share prices nosedived due to the fear of the coronavirus impact.

After the markets closed on Sunday, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said that three Bangladeshis were tested positive for Covid-19, a new strain of coronavirus that has killed over 3,600 people around the world.

Two of the three infected recently returned from different cities in Italy. All three are aged between 20 and 35, according to the government's disease control agency.

It, however, said on Monday that no new cases were reported in the last 24 hours till morning, reports UNB.

Meanwhile, global share markets tumbled on Monday as panicked investors fled headlong to bonds to hedge the economic trauma of the coronavirus, and oil plunged more than 30 percent after Saudi Arabia opened the taps in a price war with Russia, reports Reuters.

Saudi Arabia had stunned markets with plans to raise its production significantly after the collapse of OPEC’s supply cut agreement with Russia, a grab for market share reminiscent of a drive in 2014 that sent prices down by about two thirds, says the Reuters report.

/zmi/
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