DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday, tracking global shares and a retreat in oil prices, though some bourses found some support from positive second-quarter corporate results.
MSCI’s broadest index of world stocks lost 0.5%, as equity markets were locked in a multitrillion-dollar tailspin after a slump in global tech stocks sent investors fleeing to traditional safe haven assets.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.6%, hit by a 1.2% fall in aluminium products manufacturer Al Taiseer Group and a 1.1% decrease in Al Rajhi Bank.
Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets - fell as demand signals from lacklustre Chinese consumption outweighed data showing large draws on US inventories. China’s oil imports and refinery runs this year have trended lower than in 2023 on weaker fuel demand amid sluggish economic growth, government data shows.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia imported fuel oil from Kuwait for the first time in more than two years in July to help meet peak summer power demand while discounted supplies from Russia fell, according to trade sources and shipping data.
The Qatari index lost 0.4%, with Qatar Islamic Bank losing 1%.
Dubai’s main share index gained 0.2%, led by a 1.4% rise in top lender Emirates NBD
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