Gulf bourses fall in broad sell-off after crude dips below $50

Shares in the Gulf fell in a broad sell-off yesterday as investors booked profits after a dip in oil prices.Egypt was lower as foreign funds exited positions.Saudi Arabia’s index lost 1.1 %, its lowest close since April 11, before the kingdom announced plans to diversify away from hydrocarbon dollars. Eighty-eight percent of the shares closed down.Petrochemical shares were the main drag with Saudi Basic Industries, the largest listed producer, dropping 1.8%, taking its losses to 3.0% since Brent prices fell back below $50 a barrel.Banking shares failed to hold onto earlier gains, with the sub-index edging down 0.4 %.Banque Saudi Fransi fell 2.5%, its sixth session of losses out of the last seven.Elsewhere, Dubai’s index fell 1.6%, ending five session of gains as investors lacked impetus to build further positions.Emaar Properties lost 2.2% and Dubai Islamic Bank, which was a top gainer on Sunday, slumped 4.1%.Abu Dhabi’s index erased earlier gains and dropped 0.9% in the heaviest volumes in seven weeks.Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and First Gulf Bank, whose combined market value is a fifth of the total market, fell 1.1% and 2.0% respectively.In Egypt, the main index edged down 0.4%, as foreigners exited positions, stock exchange data showed.Last week, international investors were net buyers of Egyptian shares.Real-estate development stocks were the main drag, with Amer Group Holding and Porto Group Holding slumping 5.9% and 3.5%.But investment firm Pioneers Holding added 0.8% after the company reported a 46.9% rise in first-quarter profit of 354.5mn Egyptian pounds ($39.92mn).Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index slid 0.3 % to 5,379 points; Oman’s index fell 0.9 % to 5,839 points, while Bahrain’s index added 0.2% to 1,094 points.