Dubai stocks tumble after Iran hits airport

• Stock index down to 11-month low
• Abu Dhabi slumps before late buy back
• Selling pressure on UAE continues

Dubai’s stock index tumbled to an 11-month low on Monday, extending losses as an Iranian strike on the emirate’s airport soured investor sentiment further, while the deepening regional conflict sparked a less pronounced sell-off on other Gulf bourses.

Dubai’s index fell 3.5 percent to 5,235 points, its lowest close since late April 2025. Abu Dhabi’s measure slumped to a similar milestone low before aggressive late buying clawed back most intra-day losses, with the benchmark ending down 0.2 percent.

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks have fallen 19.5 and 9.5 percent respectively since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran February 28, sparking a renewed war.

In response, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies would usually transit, and attacked civil and military targets in Middle East countries with a US military presence including the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. 

Monday’s UAE market sell-off was broad-based although blue-chip banking and real estate companies faced the biggest pressure. Emaar Properties and Aldar Properties, the top real estate developers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively, fell 4.9 and 3.5 percent. 

The duo’s market valuations have fallen by a combined $21 billion this month alone, according to AGBI calculations, as investors bet the Iran war will translate into lower demand for residential and commercial property in the UAE.

Bank stocks also retreated. Dubai’s top lender Emirates NBD fell 1.7, Dubai Islamic Bank lost 3 percent and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank slid 4.9 percent.

 “Any company stock to do with the number of people being in the UAE isn’t doing well,” said a Gulf-based trader who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 Selling pressure on UAE markets shows little sign of easing, he said.

“It doesn’t look good,” said the trader. “We need a sustained period of calm. The UAE isn’t being bombarded by Iran but every day it sends at least one thing [missile or drone] to disrupt everyday life and keep the pressure on the UAE government. Today, it was Dubai airport.” 

So bearish is market sentiment, that few bargain hunters want to buy at current stock prices. 

“You’d be catching a falling knife at this point,” said the trader. “No asset manager wants to stick their neck out [and expand their market exposure] in this kind of scenario.” 

Saudi Arabia’s index was steadier, rising 0.3 percent as of 11:13 GMT. The kingdom will probably be less affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure because state oil company Saudi Aramco can export up to two-thirds of its usual crude output via a pipeline to the Red Sea.

In contrast, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are entirely dependent on exports via the narrow channel, Farouk Soussa, Goldman Sachs’ Mena economist, wrote in a research note.

Goldman forecasts oil output from Saudi Arabia and the UAE would fall 12 and 16 percent this year should the Iran conflict continue at its current intensity until the end of April. For Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, oil production would shrink by more than 25 percent.

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These declines, along with a 2 to 6 percent contraction in the Gulf countries’ non-oil economies, would lead to sizeable year-on-year declines in real GDP across the region in 2026.

Qatar and Kuwait’s real GDP would each fall 14 percent this year, while those of Saudi Arabia and the UAE would drop 3 and 5 percent respectively, Goldman estimates.

The murky economic outlook weighed on other Gulf bourses. Qatar’s index fell 1.2 percent to a fresh nine-month low. Kuwait’s measure – which was up slightly this month to Thursday’s close – also retreated, dipping 0.4 percent.