Stocks listed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi slid on Wednesday, as UAE indexes reopened from a two-day closure that followed Iranian drone and missile strikes on the nation.
Dubai’s benchmark index was last seen trading 4.9% lower, putting it on course for its worst day since May 2022. Abu Dhabi’s main index was more than 3% lower, on track for its sharpest intraday decline since August, while the Nasdaq UAE 20 was down 4.3%.
State-owned bank Emirates NBD, down 5.2%, led losses in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi’s Al Buhaira National Insurance Company and Umm Al Qaiwain General Investments, down 9.6% and 8.7% respectively, led losses there.
Before the open, both exchanges said that they would temporarily adjust their lower price limit thresholds for securities to -5%.
Over the weekend, Iran launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on the UAE in retaliation to U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s strikes on the UAE have hit civilian and commercial areas, with Dubai’s international airport, hotels and Amazon
