Persian Gulf Shares Decline, Led by Qatar, on Libya Protest, Economic Risk - Bloomberg

Persian Gulf shares declined, sending Qatar’s benchmark index to the lowest in three months, on concern worsening violence in Libya and instability in the Middle East and North Africa may derail a regional recovery.

Commercial Bank of Qatar, the Gulf country’s second-biggest bank by assets, retreated 1.7 percent and Qatar National Bank dropped to the lowest level in almost five months. The QE Index tumbled 2.8 percent to 8,253.16, the lowest since Dec. 2. The measure has lost 7.8 percent since Feb. 11 when Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak stepped down. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index retreated for an eighth day, slipping 1.3 percent. Dubai’s DFM General Index declined 1.9 percent to 1,488.32, the lowest since Sept. 2.

“The situation has deteriorated and it’s inevitable that investors should be concerned,” said Paul Cooper, Dubai-based managing director at Sarasin-Alpen & Partners Ltd., which oversees more than $500 million in the Middle East. “The derisking of portfolios would suggest markets will come down.”