UAE markets react to Wall Street

The Dubai market regained some of its massive losses today, after falling to a daily low of nine per cent.

The Dubai market regained some of its massive losses today, after seeing its value at one point wiped out by nine per cent. At its close, the Dubai Financial Market had lost only 1.7 per cent. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which was hit hardest, closed down 4.4 per cent. All other Gulf market were hammered, but not by as much as was expected this morning. The Saudi Tadawul market, the GCC's biggest, was down 5.93 per cent in late trading; Kuwait closed down 3.8 per cent; Doha was down a huge seven per cent; and all other markets suffered smaller losses. Traders will now be watching the New York Stock Exchange to see how it performs when it opens in several hours. The mass sell-off comes just hours after the giant US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and Bank of America agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch, sparking fears that even more banks could be on the brink of collapse. Announcements by the Bank of England and European Central Bank made it clear they would be injecting billions of pounds and euros into the market, to assist institutions starved of capital. Shiv Prakash, an equity analyst at Mac Capital Advisors, said there was a panic sell-off by investors who had stayed in the market hoping for recovery. Margin calls were now pushing many over the edge into selling, he said. [e-mail]