18th March 2020
Morning Bell - Jessica Amir
Today, the Australian PM banned international travel and indoor gatherings of 100 people. He also called upon the stockpiling behaviour to stop.
Yesterday, we heard that the Australian government pledged $715 million to support our airliners via refunds and waivers with $159 million of that being an upfront benefit. We also heard from some states and territories as to how they will support the workforce, which is why the Aussie share market gained 5.8%.
All eyes are on Virgin (ASX:VAH), Ramsay Health (ASX:RHC), Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL), Mirvac (ASX:MGR) and Afterpay (ASX:APT).
More government stimulus is being planned in the U.S to combat coronavirus, with Trump weighing up a $1 trillion stimulus package that includes cash payments, support for small business and the airlines. The news helped the US benchmark indices take back half of what they lost from the day before.