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New oil slump pulls Gulf Arab stocks down

Xinhua, March 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

With oil prices having fallen by over four percent to hit a six-week low last Friday, shares listed on markets from Kuwait to Oman fell across the board on Sunday.

The main loser at the start of the Islamic week was the Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) which lost 2.54 percent to hit 3,613 Points, which is only 13 points above the level from the beginning of 2015.

On Friday, the price of oil (West Texas Intermediate crude) dived by 4.25 percent to reach 45.05 U.S. dollars per barrel, after the U.S. energy information administration said Wednesday inventories were on the rise and would continue to weigh on the price of the "black gold."

At the Dubai market, shares of developer Emaar slipped 1.70 percent to 6.94 dirham (1.89 dollar).

Volatility also rose at Dubai's sister market Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange(ADX), which dived 1.31 percent to 4,424.75 points, the lowest level since January 7 this year.

Losses at the Saudi Stock Exchange were relatively modest compared to its peers in the energy-rich region. The biggest bourse in the Middle East in relation to market capitalization saw its gauge Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) falling by 0.64 percent to reach 9,628.65 points.

Market bellwether Sabic, the world's largest producer of petrochemicals, fell by 1.30 percent to 92.50 Saudi riyal (24.98 dollar).

Muscat securities market in Oman finished Sunday's session with a day-loss of 1.54 percent.

Trading volumes at all Gulf markets remained low in recent weeks as the oil price slump keeps traders on the sidelines, analysts said.

Analysts say the current lackluster oil prices would be an ideal opportunity for the Gulf co-operation council (GCC) states to implement reforms in order to diversify their economies.

The international monetary fund estimated that the six GCC states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman would earn in 2015 approximately 300 billion dollars less than last year in case oil prices would not pick up. Enditem