A Saudi investor monitors stock prices at the Al-Bilad Saudi Bank in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s main stock index fell 1.1% yesterday with all sectors in the red. China is the second-biggest market for the kingdom’s exports and a hard landing for its economy would have a big impact on Saudi Arabia.
Reuters/Dubai
Stock markets across the Middle East fell yesterday alongside steep drops in global stock prices because of renewed uncertainty about the state of China’s economy.
Stock markets fell after data showed China’s manufacturing activity had contracted in August at its fastest pace in three years, reinforcing fears of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy despite a flurry of government support measures.
Oil fell more than 4% after the Chinese data, giving up some of the gains made on Monday, when both Brent and US crude futures had surged more than 8%. This rise was fuelled by an Opec commentary saying the group was ready to talk to other producers to achieve reasonable oil prices. A downward revision of US output data by the US Energy Information Administration also provided support.
Qatar’s index was down 1.3%. Ezdan Holding and Commercial Bank of Qatar dropped 2.6% each on profit-taking after surging in the run-up to the rebalancing of MSCI’s emerging markets index, which increased the two stocks’ weightings at the end of Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s main stock index fell 1.1% with all sectors in the red. China is the second-biggest market for the kingdom’s exports and a hard landing for its economy would have a big impact on Saudi Arabia.
National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), which is the exclusive oil shipper for Saudi Aramco and also handles oil products and petrochemicals, tumbled 4.4%.
Large banks National Commercial Bank and Al Rajhi fell 1.0% and 1.7% respectively after credit rating agency Fitch revised its outlook on their ratings to negative from stable, following a similar revision for the sovereign’s outlook last month.
Dubai’s benchmark dropped 2.1% in another broad sell-off which affected all sectors. Abu Dhabi’s bourse fell 2.6%.
Egyptian stocks were down 0.7% after a 2.8% jump the previous day triggered by the discovery of a potentially huge gas field off the country’s Mediterranean coast.
Ezz Steel, which analysts say could be one of the biggest beneficiaries if new gas supplies boost domestic power generation, continued to rise, adding 3.7% on top of Monday’s 10% gain.
Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, which uses natural gas as feedstock, jumped 3.4% and carpet maker Oriental Weavers, whose main input is also sourced from hydrocarbons, climbed 3.0%.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index slipped 0.4% to 5,798 points; Oman’s index lost 1.1% to 5,805 points, while Bahrain’s index was flat at 1,299 points.
