Most Middle Eastern stocks slid to new multi-year lows on Tuesday, as heightened fears of the coronavirus pandemic weighed on sentiment, while Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock exchange, the region's biggest, took a breather after four sessions of losses. The number of cases of coronavirus in the Gulf rose to 1,042.
The Abu Dhabi index tumbled 6.3 per cent to 3,323 points, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank losing 9.9 per cent and telecoms firm Etisalat shedding 7.1 per cent.
In Dubai, the index lost 5 per cent, closing at 1,751 points - its lowest level since January 2013. Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties plunged 10 per cent, while Dubai's largest lender Emirates NBD closed down 5.4 per cent. The UAE, which has now reported 98 cases of coronavirus, has urged its citizens abroad to return home due to travel difficulties amid the spread of the virus and suspensions of flights from some countries. Egypt's index retreated 2.4 per cent to 9,202 points with 25 of 30 stocks in the red, including Talaat Mostafa, which slumped 8.9 per cent. Egypt, which has reported 166 cases of coronavirus, will halt all air traffic at its airports from Thursday until March 31 to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index rose 2.5 per cent to 6,107 points, led by a 5.7 per cent rise in National Commercial Bank and a 4.7 per cent gain in Saudi Aramco. On Monday, Aramco's chief financial officer Khalid al-Dabbagh said the company was "very comfortable" with a $30 per barrel oil price and that it can meet its dividend commitments and shareholders' expectations even in the current low oil price environment.
Bahrain fell 1.1 per cent to 1,380 points and the Oman market slipped 0.6 per cent to 3,660 points but the Kuwait Premier Market gained 1 per cent to 4,707 points.
There were signs that the sell-off on global markets is beginning to ease elsewhere in Asia on Tuesday, with Hong Kong stocks snapping four sessions of falls. The Hang Seng index rose 0.9 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.1 per cent and MSCI's Asia ex-Japan index closed down 0.1 per cent.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
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Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
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The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
