DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Sunday in response to Friday’s fall in oil prices, with the Saudi index falling for a fifth consecutive session.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets - fell on Friday as traders looked toward weaker demand in the US, the world’s largest oil market, and a boost in supply this autumn from OPEC and its allies.
Brent crude futures for October delivery, which expired on Friday, settled at $68.12 a barrel, down 50 cents, or 0.73 percent.
Lower prices and disruptions to crude exports impact fiscal balances in countries reliant on oil income.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index eased 0.3 percent, hit by a 5.4 percent fall in SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co.
The Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets fell by $13.3 billion in July from the previous month, central bank data showed on Thursday.
In Qatar, the index finished flat.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index declined 1.6 percent, as almost all its constituents were in negative territory including tobacco monopoly Eastern Company, which was down 1.8 percent.
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