Markets drop in Qatar ahead of deadline

Arab nations have cut off tiny Gulf nation to force an end to what they say is support of extremism

DOHA, QATAR — Qatar’s stock exchange dropped Sunday as the Gulf nation braced for a deadline to accept demands from four Arab countries in part over what they allege is its support for extremist groups.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties with 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar in early June, restricting access to their airspace and ports and sealing Qatar’s only land border, which it shares with Saudi Arabia. They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff June 22 and gave the natural gasrich country 10 days to comply.

Qatar’s main QE stock index lost more than three per cent when it reopened following a weeklong hiatus for the Eid al-Fitr holiday break — its first session since the demands were laid out. It eventually recovered some of its losses later in the trading session to close down 2.3 per cent at 8,822.15.

The deadline was set for the end of Sunday, though the countries that issued the ultimatum did not provide a precise time or detail what immediate penalties, if any, Qatar will face. Qatar has repeatedly denied charges it supports extremism and says the demands are an affront to its sovereignty.

Qatari supermarkets saw panic buying when the four countries initially cut ties. But the capital, Doha, was largely calm Sunday as residents waited to see how the crisis would play out.

Abdelaziz al-Yafaei, a Qatari out for an evening walk along the city’s bayside, said he was reassured that things would be fine, regardless of what happens over the course of the next days. “We have a government, thank God, that is wise and knows how to provide for all of our needs, how to maintain security,” he said.

Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, showed no signs of backing down in during a briefing in Rome on Saturday, saying they were never meant to be accepted and that his country “is prepared to face whatever consequences.”