Persian Gulf shares fell, sending Dubai’s benchmark index to the lowest in almost seven years, as concern political unrest may spread to Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, sparked demand for safer assets.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slumped 5.2 percent at 1:35 p.m. in Riyadh, taking the 13-day plunge to 21 percent. It is the measure’s longest losing streak since 1996. The DFM General Index declined 3.5 percent to 1,374.43, the lowest level since June 2004, at the 2 p.m. close in Dubai. The gauge has lost 15 percent since Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in January. Emaar Properties PJSC retreated to the lowest since 2009 and Dubai Financial Market PJSC slumped 4.9 percent.
Investors are shunning assets in the Middle East and North Africa as the political turmoil, which started in Tunisia more than two months ago, expanded to Oman, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Iran. Websites have called for a nationwide Saudi “Day of Rage” on March 11 and March 20, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on its website on Feb. 28.
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