GCC stock markets have lost around $10 billion in the wake of the devastating attacks on New York's business district and the Pentagon, analysts said on Monday.
The NCFEI all-shares index of Saudi Arabia has dropped 8.3 percent, shedding $5.3b of its capitalization, Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said, cited by the Gulf Daily News.
"The Saudi market has dropped every day since Tuesday. It has lost $5.3bn of its September 10 capitalization of $70bn," BFA head Bishr Bakheet said.
Kuwait's Stock Exchange (KSE) nose-dived 8.2 percent over Saturday and Sunday but stabilized Monday, losing some $2.5b in the process. The index closed at 1,627 points up 0.2 percent.
"Financial markets hate uncertainties. Although the Gulf economies have been doing exceptionally well because of high oil prices, the bourses are emotionally driven" by the attacks, Bakheet added.
"The Gulf stock markets, like world markets, will remain shaky for some time and at least until the nature of US retaliation becomes somewhat clearer," he said.
Bakheet said Gulf citizens were "unlikely" to withdraw the $600 to $700b of investments from western markets as a result of the current situation in the US.
The Bahrain Stock Exchange has lost around 100 points, or 5.3 percent, since the attacks to stand at 1,737.46 points.
UAE however, has risen 0.9 percent since September 11, he said.
Stock markets throughout the Arab world, with a total capitalization of $168b, have shed some 10 percent of their value since last Tuesday's attack, Bakheet added – Albawaba.com
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