Dubai stocks dive 7% as Gulf markets hit by Syria crisis

Dubai share prices dived 7.0 percent on Tuesday, leading the falls as Gulf Arab stock markets took a hit from fears of possible US military intervention in Syria.

Prices on the Kuwait Stock Exchange fell 6.0 percent while the largest Arab stock market in Saudi Arabia shed more than 3.5 percent, nearly two hours before closing time.

The Dubai Financial Market index closed at 2,549.61 points, led by Emaar Properties, the developer that built Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which fell 8.36 percent.

Saudi financial expert Bishr Bakhit said that "the reason of the drop is the agitation about Syria".

World stocks had fallen after US Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Monday that the United States would demand "accountability" after an "obscene" chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians.

Kerry said the US was still examining evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria but left no doubt that Bashar al-Assad's regime would be blamed.