Markets down on lower oil

Gulf stock markets declined yesterday as investors reacted to lower oil prices.

In the UAE, financial stocks weighed on Dubai's main index.

Dubai Financial Market Company, the only bourse in the region to sell its shares to the public, dropped 2.6 per cent to Dh1.10 a share. Tamweel, a mortgage financing company, was down 2.2 per cent to 75 fils.

Crude oil fell to a six-week low on Friday, down to below US$80 a barrel in New York on concerns about the weakened global economy.

"It was a correction across the board for all our markets," said Anastasios Dalgiannakis, the head of trading at Mubasher Financial Services in Dubai.

"After the commodity broke $80 it caused concern and sensitivity for regional investors." The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed down 0.9 per cent at 1,446.55, its lowest since August 9. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 0.7 per cent to 2,538.01.

In Saudi Arabia, petrochemical stocks led the declines.

Saudi International Petrochemical, also known as Sipchem, dropped 2.4 per cent to 18.10 Saudi riyals. Sahara Petrochemical declined 2.5 per cent to 20.85 riyals.

The Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.9 per cent to 6,083.37 points.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's index was down 1.1 per cent to 5,849.80; Bahrain's index lost 1.8 per cent to 1,221.73; Oman's benchmark was down 0.6 per cent to 5,661.41; and Qatar's index lost 0.5 per cent to 6,083.37.

halsayegh@thenational.ae