الرئيسية
By Reuters
DUBAI, NOV 22 (Reuters) - Egypt's index was suspended midday after it slumped on concerns from fresh protests in Cairo's streets that cast doubt on plans for its first free election in decades, and Dubai's market hit its lowest level since 2004.
Cairo's benchmark index closed 4.8 percent lower, having fallen 5.4 percent intraday, which pushed the exchange officials to suspend trading for an hour.
"The unfolding political events are taking center stage and clearly the sight of pitched battles in Tahrir Square will again discourage investors from returning to the market," Mike Millar, head of research at Naeem holding said.
Egyptians frustrated with military rule battled police in the streets again on Tuesday as the generals scrambled to cope with the cabinet's proffered resignation after bloodshed that has jolted plans for Egypt's first free election in decades.
Egypt's market slumped to a 32-month low at close on Monday as the death toll from street protests rose to at least 33 ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for Nov.28.
Elsewhere, Dubai's benchmark slipped 0.3 percent to its lowest close since June 2004 in a steady decline on low trading volumes.
The challenging global scenario has dampened interest in United Arab Emirates markets.
"There is a sell-off in global markets and people here are looking at that, that's the issue," said Hashem Montasser, managing partner at Frontlane Capital, a Dubai-based asset management firm.
"We haven't had any good news for some time now which means lower participation from both international and regional investors."
Bellwether Emaar Properties fell 0.8 percent, and is down 29 percent so far in 2011.
Daily trading volumes have dwindled on the UAE's markets in the past two years after a property bubble burst and a credit crunch hit Dubai and Abu Dhabi, causing several brokerages to shut down operations. Monthly trading volumes in Dubai fell from 11.2 billion shares in October 2009 to 1.2 billion shares last month.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark slipped 0.4 percent to a March 2009 closing low. Heavyweight National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.9 percent and Etisalat shed 0.4 percent.
"Short of a large macro-level catalyst, the risk is that our markets will continue downward, slowly but surely," Montasser added.
In Saudi Arabia, the index slipped 0.8 percent on worries over global demand being hit amid a debt crisis in Europe and United States.
"Petrochemical and other leading stocks in Saudi are directly correlated to demand from global market, namely Europe and Asia," said Tareq al-Madi, a Saudi-based analyst.
"With the outlook worsening on the international scene, the expectation for profit for these companies keeps going down as well," he added.
Qatar and Kuwait's markets bucked the trend and closed 0.3 and 0.2 percent higher respectively.
TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
EGYPT
* The measure dropped 4.8 percent to 3,677 points.
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index fell 0.8 percent to 6,103 points.
DUBAI
* The index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,351 points.
ABU DHABI
* The index shed 0.4 percent to 2,440 points.
OMAN
* The index dipped 0.5 percent to 5,421 points.
QATAR
* The benchmark gained 0.3 percent to 8,608 points.
KUWAIT
* The measure climbed 0.2 percent to 5,797 points.
BAHRAIN
* The measure ended flat at 1,168 points. (Additional reporting by Maha El Dahan in Cairo. Editing by)