INO:

Dow plunges 1,000 points on coronavirus fears, 3.5% drop is worst in two years; Europe stocks sink on fears coronavirus is spreading in Italy; airlines lead losses

Stocks fell sharply on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,031.61 points lower, or 3.56%, at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 slid 3.35% to 3,225.89 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 3.71% lower at 9,221.28. It was the Dow’s biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up its gain for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and wiped out its year-to-date gain as well.
Coronavirus-impacted names led the way lower. Airline stocks Delta and American were both down more than 6% while United closed 5.4% lower. Shares of casino operators Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts dropped at least 5.2% each. MGM Resorts slid 5.4%.
Chipmakers, which are highly leveraged to the global economy, were also down broadly. Nvidia shares were down 7.1% while Dow-component Intel ended the day down 4%. AMD dipped 7.8%.
European stocks closed sharply lower Monday as investors monitored the continuing spread of the coronavirus beyond China. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down 3.8% provisionally, with travel and leisure stocks tumbling over 6% to lead losses as all sectors slid sharply into the red. Italy’s FTSE MIB was down more than 1,350 points, or 5.5%.
Airline stocks took the worst of Monday’s losses. EasyJet stock plummeted 16.5% and Ryanair 13%, closely followed by a 9% drop for British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA:

National Assembly adopts law on free trade with EAEU

The National Assembly of Serbia has adopted the Law on Confirming the Agreement on Free Trade between Serbia and the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, envisaging access to a market of over 180 million people. The agreement does not jeopardize Serbia's path to Europe. The European Union is not just the primary foreign policy objective of Serbia, but also the first foreign trade partner, with which we realize 65% of the total trade, whereas the trade with the EAEU countries amounts to around 7% – Mali said during the discussion.
Source: Ekapija

IMF, NBS: Policies yielding good results should be continued

Policies that yield good results should be continued, it was concluded at Monday's plenary meeting at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) that marked the start of official discussions with an International Monetary Fund mission. A Serbian delegation was headed by NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, who is also Serbian governor to the IMF, while the IMF mission was headed by Jan Kess Martijn. The IMF mission "will be in Belgrade from February 24 to 28 to discuss current fiscal, monetary and overall macroeconomic developments, as well as forecasts and prospects for the coming period," the NBS said in a statement.
Source: Tanjug

NBS: Inflation expected in a range of 2-2.4%

According to the latest NBS inflation survey, one year ahead inflation is expected in a range of 1.9-2%, while for the period of two years ahead the range is at 2-2.4%. In both cases this is in line with targeted 3 + or – 1.5%.
Source: NBS, Ilirika