Local markets follow New York down

The regional selloff continues, albeit at a muted pace, with some exchanges gaining.

Local markets fell today in response to the continuing turmoil in the West, but the drop was muted compared to the previous day's rout, with some bourse even rising. The Dubai Financial Market was one of the biggest fallers, closing down 2.22 per cent, in contrast to its neighbour the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which gained 0,4 per cent. The ADX was helped by the rise of Etisalat, which rose 3.6 per cent, and Aldar Properties, up 1.1 per cent.

Of the other GCC exchanges, the Saudi Tadawul plunged 2.47 per cent. The market is now about 100 points away from hitting a four-year low. Elsewhere, Muscat was down 3.44 per cent and Kuwait was up 0.08 per cent. The London Stock Exchange is down 2.38 per cent with banking giant HBOS leading the losers, falling 25 per cent. [e-mail]