Stocks in the Gulf region tumbled for a second straight session Tuesday as anxiety over Dubai's debt crisis spread to Qatar and Kuwait. In a public statement, Dubai's ruler stressed federal unity across the UAE amid concern that Abu Dhabi will remain on the sidelines as it struggles to restructure the debts of its government-owned companies. The comments did little to soothe investor nerves. “The Dubai situation has in a way given traders a perfect way to highlight just how fragile market confidence is at the moment,” said Ian Griffiths, a dealer at CMC Markets. The Dubai Financial Market's main index closed down 5.6 percent Tuesday, after falling 7.3 percent the previous day. A total of $5 billion has now been wiped off the value of the bourse over the past two sessions. Abu Dhabi stocks closed down 3.6 percent, while shares in Qatar and Kuwait were also hit, with benchmark measures down 8.3 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. Investors remain edgy about the immediate outlook for the Gulf region after Dubai World said it is in talks with banks to restructure about $26 billion in debt. Regional sentiment has been hit hard by concerns that the government-owned investment arm could default on some, or all, of its financial obligations. “UAE markets are down again on continued concerns about Dubai's debt, despite some clarification from Dubai World earlier on its restructuring plans,” said one trader at EFG Hermes. “Other Gulf markets are also being impacted by this news as investors worry about the contagion from Dubai's debt woes,” he added. In Doha, Industries Qatar dived 9.3 percent to QAR109.10, while Qatar National Bank lost 9.1 percent to QAR147. “Qatar will come under pressure. There is already an indication of a huge sell off in the banking sector,” said Parvez Khan, assistant general manager at Commercial Bank of Qatar. “The news about Dubai World came out on Wednesday when the market was closed so it didn't allow people to react to the news,” he added. In Kuwait, Bank of Kuwait and Middle East declined 1 percent to KWD0.495, while Boubyan Bank tumbled 3.1 percent to KWD0.475. Both lenders said they have no exposure to the troubled Dubai conglomerates Dubai World and Nakheel. In terms of stocks, Dubai bellwether Emaar Properties fell 9.9 percent to AED3.38, while Emirates NBD shed 4.8 percent to AED4.16. Aldar slumped 9.9 percent to AED4.47, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi dropped 9.1 percent to AED11.05. Nasdaq Dubai-listed DP World, majority owned by Dubai World, last traded 5.2 percent higher at $0.39. Elsewhere, however, market sentiment was underpinned by a growing conviction that Dubai's debt debacle could be contained and that other heavily indebted economies would be spared a similar fate. International ratings agency Fitch said the outlook for major British banks was “unaffected” by their exposure to the Middle East in the aftermath of Dubai's debt difficulties. In New York, US stocks posted solid gains Tuesday, on the heels of a rebound in global share prices, helped by upbeat economic news and fading fears about the Dubai debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 126.66 points (1.22 percent) to 10,471.50 at the market close. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 31.21 points (1.46 percent) to 2,175.81 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 points advanced 13.22 points (1.21 percent) to a preliminary 1,108.85. “Sentiment is being sweetened by waning concerns about Dubai's debt situation and a plethora of mostly positive economic data around the globe,” Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said in a note to investors. After shedding more than 1.0 percent on Monday when Dubai jitters were still evidence, the London FTSE 100 index rose 2.34 percent to 5,312.17. In Paris the CAC 40 added 2.60 percent to close at 3,775.74 while in Frankfurt the Dax gained 2.68 percent to 5,776.61 points. Elsewhere there were gains of 2.86 percent in Milan, 2.84 percent in Brussels, 1.87 percent in Madrid, 1.77 percent in Zurich and 3.12 percent in Amsterdam. In Asia, Tokyo surged 2.43 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 291.65 points, or 1.3 percent, to 22,113.15 and South Korea's Kospi rose 14.12, or 0.9 percent, to 1,569.72. Australia's benchmark added 0.4 percent, Singapore's market was up 1.1 percent and China's Shanghai index rose 1.3 percent.
