Regional stocks rebound following fall on Ukraine conflict fears

05 March 2014

Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi registered the highest gains as Russia-Ukraine tensions ease

Regional stock markets rebounded on 4 March as fears of a Russia-Ukraine military conflict eased.

Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange registered the highest gains, rising 1.43 per cent and 1.29 per cent respectively. Egyptian Exchange, Kuwait Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market followed, moving up 0.95 per cent, 0.51 per cent, and 0.37 per cent respectively.

Qatar Exchange formed an exception to the regional trend, falling 0.65 per cent.

The regional performances were not enough to erase the losses registered over the past three days, however. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, all exchanges are in the red, which could be the result of volatility in global markets. For some markets, it could also represent a correction as investors took advantage of record highs to cash in on their shares.

The UAE in particular has witnessed a rapid rise – Dubai is up 22.3 per cent year-to-date and Abu Dhabi has gained 14.7 per cent. The run-up to the MSCI upgrade to emerging markets status in May could contribute to higher increases, though the question remains whether the markets will be able to sustain that growth, or whether investors will massively sell off following the event.

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