Most Gulf bourses extend losses on recession worries

DUBAI: Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Monday, extending losses as investors remained worried about a global recession.

Figures on Friday showed euro zone inflation hit yet another record high in June, firming the case for rapid European Central Bank rate hikes starting this month. US consumer sentiment hit a record low in June.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.9%, hit by a 5.3% slide in Sahara International Petrochemical and a 1.3% fall in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.

“The fear of a global economic slowdown is impacting investors’ expectations and could push the market further down especially if oil prices decline further,” Wael Makarem, senior market strategist at Exness, said.

Dubai’s main share index declined 1.4%, dragged down by a 3.3% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.3% decrease in Emirates NBD Bank.

Emirati supermarket chain Union Coop on Friday announced its intention to list shares on the Dubai stock market on July 18.

In Abu Dhabi, equities dropped 0.4%, with the country’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank losing 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is doubling the financial support it provides for low-income Emirati families to 28 billion dirhams ($7.6 billion) to help them with soaring living costs in the Gulf state.

It was not immediately clear how the expansion of financial support would be funded. UAE is a major oil-producing nation.

The Qatari index fell 0.5%, driven down by a 2.1% decline in the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank .

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index tumbled 3.6%, hitting its lowest in more than 2 years. All the stocks on the index were in negative territory including top lender Commercial International Bank.

Selling pressure in Egypt came from both international and local investors, which could exacerbate the decline, Makarem said.

SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.9% to 11,358

ABU DHABI lost 0.4% to 9,305

DUBAI down 1.4% to 3,158

QATAR dropped 0.5% to 12,217

EGYPT lost 3.6% to 8,686

BAHRAIN was up 0.5% to 1,875

OMAN added 0.2% to 4,116

KUWAIT eased 0.2% to 8,313.