Gulf markets drop

Greece's shock decision to hold a referendum on its bail-out package hit regional markets on Tuesday, with all indexes slipping and Dubai's benchmark made its largest one-day decline in 12 weeks. Dubai's bourse fell 1.8 percent, down for a second day since Sunday's four-week high.
"Clearly the world woke up to a Greek curve-ball, which the markets are not taking well to mainly because it brings back uncertainty," said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Investments. "The referendum could de-rail the whole EU package-that's what the market is pricing in. But it's forgetting that this time, there is a firewall mechanism in place to protect the other EU members."
Dubai's large-caps tumbled, with Emirates NBD down 4.4 percent and Emaar Properties slipping 2.9 percent. Abu Dhabi's index shed 0.2 percent, extending its 2011 losses to 8.2 percent. Property stocks weighed, with Aldar and Sorouh declining 3.8 and 3 percent respectively.
In Saudi Arabia, the index dipped for a third day, down 1.1 percent. Petrochemical and banking stocks lead declines with a slide in oil prices weighing. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) shed 1.8 percent, Al Rajhi Bank slipped 1.1 percent and Samba Financial Group declined 1.7 percent. Crude oil futures dropped more than $3 per barrel and world stocks tumbled on renewed eurozone debt concerns.
The market has one more day of trading before it closes for the long Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. In Egypt, the main index ended 1.4 percent lower as investors took news on Greece as the trigger to take profits from a three-week rally. Property developer Talaat Moustafa Group dipped 3.3 percent, Orascom Telecom 3 percent and Telecom Egypt 2.9 percent.
In Qatar, the index ended 0.8 percent lower, taking its 2011 loses to 1.8 percent. Qatar National Bank was the main drag, sliding 1.2 percent, and Industries Qatar shed 1.7 percent. Volumes from local buyers have picked up recently and activity is likely to increase after next week's Eidul-Azha, said a Doha based trader on condition of anonymity.