Investors dumped stocks across the Middle East amid mounting speculation of a planned US military strike in Syria.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index was the worst performing index globally yesterday, falling 7 per cent in the biggest one-day sell-off since the Dubai World crisis of 2009. Crude oil rose as geopolitical tension increased, with Brent futures up US$2.30 to a six-month high of $114.19.
"There's panic all over the place," said Fadi Al Said, a senior fund manager at ING Investment Management in Dubai, who cited worries from investors over conflict in Syria as the immediate cause.
Western powers ratcheted up rhetoric against the government of president Bashar Al Assad yesterday after accusing Syria of using chemical weapons on civilians last week. Syria has denied taking part in the attack.
The United Kingdom parliament was recalled for an emergency debate on Tuesday while the United States defence secretary Chuck Hagel said the country's armed forces were ready to act, the BBC reported.
The bellicose rhetoric appeared to raise the odds of direct western military intervention, analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a research report.
"Developments may add a geopolitical risk premium on to oil prices in the near term, though Syria is a marginal oil producer. Spillovers on to regional actors will largely depend on the extent and nature of any western military involvement, in our view," the report said.
Dubai's stock market joined a rout in emerging market stock exchanges, with the Middle East hit particularly hard.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fell 2.8 per cent to 3,822.04 and the Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index lost 4.1 per cent to 7,720.70, the biggest dip for the kingdom's benchmark in two years.
Stock markets in Turkey and Kuwait also saw sharp declines, while all other markets in the Arabian Gulf fell. Bond markets in the Gulf held steady, with Dubai Government's 10-year bond unchanged in trading.
The sell-off on local stock markets "looks like panic selling" driven by retail investors, said Amer Khan, a fund manager and director at Shuaa Capital.
"The political situation in Syria is the obvious catalyst, but these markets have weathered quite a few political storms, it's really difficult to imagine Syria being the only factor here," he added.
Dubai's market index remains up 57.1 per cent so far this year, with Abu Dhabi's benchmark 45.2 per cent higher than at the start of the year. With local equities outperforming most other markets this year, many investors did not require much convincing to sell out of trading positions and book profits, Mr Khan said.
"We received requests from some of our clients in Europe and Emirati high-net-worth individuals to liquidate positions," said Fathi Ben Grira, the chief executive at Menacorp. "Our brokers are citing worries over the regional situation now that the US is more into Syria."
Other emerging markets also suffered as investors feared the withdrawal of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve would spiral into a full-blown currency crisis.
The Indian rupee touched a record low of 67.2 rupees to the US dollar as investors feared a rising fuel import bill. The Sensex fell by 3.1 per cent in local currency.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell by 3.9 per cent, closely followed by Indonesia's benchmark index which was down 3.7 per cent.
ghunter@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
AUSTRALIA%20SQUAD
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
