Market rout continues amid fears of world recession

Dubai's stock market is now at its lowest level since 2005.

Oh dear. A Chinese investor stands dejectedly in front of a price board at a private security firm in Shanghai.

Dubai's stock market has closed at its lowest level since 2005, in one of its biggest ever one-day falls, after markets throughout the world collapsed on fears of a looming recession, the credit crunch and the latest bailout, this time of a large German bank. The German government put together an emergency credit line for Hypo Real Estate Holding after a previous financing scheme fell through and it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Dubai Financial Market has closed today 7.87 per cent down, leaving it at 3541, a level it has not seen since 30 March, 2005, when it was starting its first explosive bull run; the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has also closed down 5.55 per cent today. The Saudi Tadawul has collapsed an astonishing ten per cent, one of its largest one-day falls and leaving it at its lowest level since October 2004. Among the DFM's biggest losers were Gulf Finance House, 13.64 per cent, Arabtec, 14.95 per cent and the property company Deyaar 10.53 per cent. Global markets have followed suit - the FTSE index in London has fallen 6.12 per cent, the German DAX by 5.67 per cent and the French CAC market by 6.23 per cent. In addition, the Hong Kong and Tokyo markets have each lost four per cent of their value today. The rest of the GCC has followed suit: Kuwait has fallen 3.45 per cent; Doha 4.49 per cent; Muscat 6.70 per cent; and Bahrain 1.53 per cent. [e-mail]