Hundreds of disgruntled Kuwaiti investors protested peacefully outside the emirate’s stock exchange as the bourse index recorded its largest single day drop, 08 March 2006 (AFP)
KUWAIT CITY (AP) – Around 200 Kuwaiti investors angered by losses caused by a record one-day drop in share prices took to the streets Wednesday to demand government intervention. Investors poured out from the marble-and-steel Kuwait Stock Exchange building in downtown Kuwait City into the street when the index shed more than 400 points before midday. The rare street protest in this wealthy Gulf nation attracted scores of police, journalists and television news crews. There was no violence.
By the day’s end, the index bounced back to 10,705 points, 2.3 percent lower than Tuesday’s close. The market has been in a downward trend for weeks after breaking the 12,000-point psychological barrier in early February.
“I have lost 60 percent of my capital in a month and a half,” said protester Riyadh al-Nasser, 42. “The government has to intervene (by investing its) funds and portfolios,” he said.
Commerce and Industry Minister Youssef al-Zilzilah told reporters in Parliament the sharp dip “was normal and not a catastrophe.” He said the government will intervene when it sees a need to do so. He did not elaborate. The index reflects the performance of listed companies, not the country’s economy, he said.
The KSE is the main venue of investment in Kuwait, whose economy is dominated by the state and how it spends oil revenues. It lists 161 companies from Kuwait and other Gulf countries.
Kuwaiti Planning Minister Maasuma al-Mubarak arrives in parliament in Kuwait City, 07 March 2006 (AFP)
Traders are seen at the Stock Exchange in Kuwait City 07 March 2006 (AFP)
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