March 15, 2006	Wednesday	Safar 14, 1427

DUBAI, March 14: Stocks across the Gulf Arab region tumbled on Tuesday as a crisis of confidence triggered some of the steepest falls in years, with Dubai losing nearly 12 per cent to hit an 11-month low after breaking a key support level.

Many Gulf equity markets have been in the red this year for the first time since 2002, but Tuesday’s falls were the sharpest and most widespread. Last year, bourses in the wealthy, oil producing region grew an average of 92 per cent.

The sentiment in the entire region is negative, said Hany Hussein, fund manager at Mashreqbank in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Arab world’s largest bourses, as well as the United Arab Emirates declined steeply on Tuesday, with the index in Dubai in the UAE diving 11.71 per cent to close at 611.86 points, its lowest in more than 11 months, having fallen below a key 680 support level.

The index in Saudi Arabia , the biggest Arab market, tumbled 4.82 per cent to 14,887.74 points.

Kuwait’s index registered its biggest single day decline in almost three years, dropping 3.67 per cent to 10,057.40 points.—Reuters