Stock markets in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) closed lower on Wednesday as oil prices fell after both the countries promised to raise oil output amid an oil-supply policy dispute with Russia.
Saudi Arabia directed Saudi Aramco to raise its oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day from 12 million bpd. UAE's national oil company (ADNOC) said that it would raise crude supply to more than 4 million bpd in April and would accelerate plans to boost its capacity to 5 million bpd.
Brent crude fell almost 3% to $36.13 per barrel by 1221 GMT.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia slashed crude prices for April and set plans to raise production next month after Russia refused to support deeper oil production cuts, causing oil prices to fall 25% and Gulf equities to post record declines.
Saudi Arabia's index declined 3.1% as Saudi Aramco plunged 4.7% to 29.70 riyals ($7.91) below its initial public offering price of 32 riyals.
Al Rajhi Bank lost 3% and National Commercial Bank was down 3.8%.
But National Shipping Company (Bahri) soared 9.9%, its sharpest rise since October 2008, on news that it booked as many as 14 super-tankers to ship crude oil to customers worldwide.
Dubai's index slipped 1% as Commercial Bank Of Dubai plunged 9.9%.
Emaar Properties, which will stop taking bookings at three hotels from March 15 amid coronavirus fears, lost 1.4%.
Abu Dhabi's index shed 0.6% with First Abu Dhabi Bank losing 1.2% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank declining 5.2%
The Qatari index, however, rose 2.1%, extending its gain from the previous session and buoyed by rise in banking shares.
Commercial Bank surged 6.7%, while Qatar Islamic Bank was up 3.3%.
Barwa Real Estate jumped 8.8%, its biggest intra-day rise in more than three years. The real estate developer is slated to report its 2019 financial results later on Wednesday.
In Egypt, the blue-chip index edged down 0.1% with the tobacco firm Eastern Company rising 3.4% and Egypt Kuwait Holding shedding 4%.
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