DUBAI: Most Gulf markets ended lower on Tuesday, with the Dubai index particularly hard hit by losses for top lender Emirates NBD. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed 0.2% down after oil behemoth Saudi Aramco lost 0.4% and Saudi Telecom Company declined by 1%.
Saudi Aramco and petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries have decided to re-evaluate their $20 billion crude-oil-to-chemicals project and are now looking at integrating existing facilities instead.
The decision comes as oil companies globally re-assess energy projects to conserve cash, with a collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic threatening to keep crude prices weak for a protracted period. Shares in Saudi Basic Industries were down 0.5%.
Dubai's main share index retreated 1.3%, dragged down by a 3.2% fall Emirates NBD after a sharp decline in quarterly profit, hit by a rise in bad debt charges resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.
Elsewhere, Shariah-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank was down 1.7%. The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.4%, with largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank losing 0.7% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank dropping by 2.9%.
In Qatar, the index edged up by 0.2%, helped by a 1.4% gain for Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) after it reported a nine-month net profit up 23.6% year on year.
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