Major Gulf stock markets fell in early trade yesterday, extending losses from the previous session as oil prices slid.
Crude prices – a key catalyst for the region’s financial markets – dropped as rising Covid-19 cases in China sparked fears of lower fuel consumption from the world’s top crude oil importer and after Opec cut its 2022 global demand forecast.
The Opec forecast cut came after the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that the global economic outlook has become gloomier than projected last month, citing a steady worsening in recent purchasing manager surveys.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.6 per cent, hit by a 1.4pc drop in Retal Urban Development Co and a 1.2pc fall in oil giant Saudi Aramco.
South Korea’s S-Oil Corp, in which the largest shareholder is Aramco, is considering an investment of up to 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in new petrochemical production in the country, the Korea Economic Daily reported.
Dubai’s main share index dropped 1pc, weighed down by a 2.5pc slide in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties despite it having reported a forecast-beating 46pc rise in third quarter net profit the previous day.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.8pc, hit by a 1.5pc drop in the country’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank.
&uuid=(email))