Middle East shares slumped, sending Dubai’s benchmark stock index down the most this month, on concern political unrest in the region may spread.
Emaar Properties PJSC, builder of the world’s tallest skyscraper, dropped 4.7 percent. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Shariah-compliant lender, fell the most since November. The DFM General Index retreated 3.7 percent, the most since Jan. 30, to 1,536.45 at the 2 p.m. close in Dubai. Kuwait’s gauge tumbled 2.5 percent, led by Mobile Telecommunications Co. as the company’s board rejected all purchase offers for its 25 percent stake in Zain Saudi Arabia. Israel’s benchmark index lost 0.1 percent.
Arab governments are cracking down on pro-democracy activists as uprisings that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt spread to Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Bahrain. Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, said on Feb. 17 that the kingdom may see protests unless King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz introduces reforms, according to BBC Arabic TV.
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