Banks and property drag local markets down

Regional markets close deep in the red, with Egyptian stocks suffering the biggest-ever one day fall.

Regional markets painted a sorry picture of woe today, closing deep in the red as negative international sentiment and the US Dow Jones Industrial Index dropping below the psychologically-important 10,000-point level took its toll. The benchmark Case 30 in Egypt plunged 16 per cent, its largest fall since its inception in 1998. Leading the slide was Orascom Construction, Egypts' largest listed construction company, which gave up 20 per cent to close at 250.25 pounds, a 12-month low.

The Saudi Arabia Tadawul, the Gulf's largest stock market, closed 8.8 per cent down, as petrochemical and financial stocks joined the international commodities and banking stock rout. The Dubai Financial Market closed 5.14 per cent down, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended 4.58 per cent in the red. Property stocks were the biggest losers in UAE markets, dealers said. Muscat lost 7.29 per cent and Aman 3.7 per cent.

Overseas markets were mixed and volatile. The Australian ASX All Ordinaries ended over one per cent higher after authorities there announced a full point rates cut, while the Nikkei 225 fell three per cent. The FTSE 100 edged green in early afternoon trade, as did Paris and Frankfurt, shrugging off reports that Iceland's central bank had to step in and rescue Landsbanki, and rumours that several large UK banks had asked for government help.

In the US, stock futures traded flat, pointing to an uncertain opening later today. On Monday the Dow gave up 800 points before recovering towards close, to finish 369 points down. *With agencies [e-mail]