Most Gulf stock markets fell in early trade on Tuesday, tracking Asian shares and oil prices lower, with Qatar leading declines in the region.
The Qatari index dropped 2.7%, as almost all the stocks on the index were in the negative territory including Qatar Islamic Bank, which tumbled 4.1% despite reporting an increase in 2022 profits.
MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan increased its losses to stand down 0.65% at 0535 GMT, after China reported weak fourth-quarter economic data, although investor expectations for a strong rebound in the country remained high, even as concerns increase that the global economy is heading for a recession.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.7%, hit by a 0.8% drop in oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets – were mixed after China posted its weakest annual economic growth in nearly half a century, with its late-2022 U-turn in COVID-19 policy underpinning hopes of a recovery in the country’s fuel demand this year.
Data released on Tuesday also showed China’s oil refinery output in 2022 had fallen 3.4% from a year earlier, its first annual decline since 2001, although daily December oil throughput rose to the second-highest level of 2022.
In Abu Dhabi, the index eased 0.1%.
Dubai’s mains share index gained 0.6%, led by a 4.3% jump in Emirates Central Cooling Systems and a 2.6% increase in utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
The United Arab Emirates’ energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Monday that oil markets were balanced.
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