KUWAIT CITY: Stocks listed in the energy-rich Gulf states dropped, some sharply, on Monday as they reeled under the impact of sweeping unrest in many Arab countries.
The small Muscat Securities Market led the slide Monday, shedding 4.9 percent followed by the bourses in Dubai, which dived to a level last seen in 2004, and Qatar, which slid below the 8,000-point mark.
Daily protests in Bahrain and violent demonstrations in Oman besides the continued unrest in Libya and several other Arab countries have heavily impacted dealers' sentiment, traders said.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index, the largest Arab bourse, fell for the 11th consecutive session on Monday while Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest, was closed for national holidays.
Companies listed on the seven bourses in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have this year shed at least $70 billion (50.6 billion euros), or around nine percent of their capitalisation, most of it after the outbreak of Arab protests in January.
Total market value of companies on the seven bourses stood at $700 billion on Monday, down from $770 billion at the end of last year, according to Arab Monetary Fund.
The Saudi TASI finished Monday down just 0.15 percent at 5,941.63, an eight-month low, one day after shedding five percent and dropping below the 6,000-point mark. TASI has so far lost 10.26 percent since the end of 2010.
Dubai Financial Market Index dived 3.84 percent to close at 1,410.70 points, a seven-year low. Market leader Emaar property developer, the owner of the tallest tower in the world, dropped 6.3 percent and construction giant Arabtec lost 8.5 percent.
Its sister bourse in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, also dropped 1.5 percent to 2,588.90 points, with seven of its nine market sectors diving.
The value of Dubai-listed companies has dropped 13.5 percent since the start of the year, while Abu Dhabi's stocks have lost 4.8 percent.
Qatar Exchange was down 3.2 percent to close at 7.932.84 points. It has so far dropped 8.63 percent since the start of the year.
In Oman, where two protesters were killed and demonstrations continued on Monday, the Muscat Securities Market index dropped 4.9 percent to 6,142.42 points, a level last seen in September.
The bourse in Bahrain, which has been witnessing the most serious protests in the Gulf, remained almost unchanged on Monday, shedding just 0.4 percent and was down a meagre 0.1 percent on the year.
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