The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau operators fell as much as 3.7% Tuesday on the news, with stocks of all six companies in the gauge declining. MGM China Holdings and Galaxy Entertainment Group were the worst performers, slipping by 4%.
(Feb 4): Casinos in Macau, the Chinese territory that’s the world’s biggest gambling hub, are being asked to temporarily close as China tries to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The move to suspend casino operations is the latest blow to the gambling mecca, which has been struggling to recover from the worst annual revenue decline since 2015. It’ll be only the second time such an extreme measure was taken; in 2018, a typhoon caused a 33-hour shutdown of casinos. So far, Macau has confirmed at least 10 cases of the novel virus strain that originated from Wuhan city in central China.
