Gulf stock markets continue sliding as oil sags

Gulf stock markets continued falling early Tuesday after Brent crude oil dropped back below $49 a barrel and short-term technicals for several indexes in the region turned negative over the past few days.

The Saudi index fell 0.6 percent to 6,074 points in the first 45 minutes of trade. On Monday it confirmed a break of support on its early August low of 6,226 points, triggering a right triangle formed by the highs and lows since April and pointing down to the 5,600-point area in the medium term.

The drop was broad-based on Tuesday with losers outnumbering gainers by 123 to 12. Saudi Basic Industries, the biggest petrochemical producer, fell 0.3 percent.

Dubai’s index, which in the last few days failed a test of resistance on the April peak of 3,605 points, dropped 0.5 percent to 3,516 points.

Construction company Drake & Scull International slid 1.4 percent in heavy trade; it has lost 11 percent since it announced a big second-quarter loss in mid-August.

Qatar’s index dropped 0.7 percent to 11,139 points with nine of the 10 most heavily trade stocks falling. Qatar Gas Transport lost 1.8 percent, though Vodafone Qatar rebounded 0.4 percent after a sharp loss on Monday.

The index in Abu Dhabi, which tends to be less volatile than most other Gulf markets and did not rise sharply earlier this month when they did, was flat.

Source: Reuters