UAE Economy Minister Reassures Investors After Stock Market Plunge

Ups and downs in stock markets are normal and markets tend eventually to resume their upward trends, United Arab Emirates economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said on Tuesday.

Mansouri, who is also chairman of the Securities and Commodities Authority, the UAE’s market regulator, was issuing a statement to reassure investors after the country’s stock markets plunged on Tuesday, partly in response to sliding oil prices.

Dubai’s main equities index closed 7.3 per cent lower, bringing its losses this month to 28 per cent, while the Abu Dhabi market tumbled 6.9 per cent.

Mansouri said the UAE’s economy and corporate profit growth were strong, and that oil’s share of the economy was less than 30 per cent.

He urged investors to base their decisions on careful analysis and act rationally. He did not announce any concrete new steps to support the markets.