Oil's fresh plunge weighs on Middle East markets

Dubai - Dubai's bourse fell 0.9 per cent and property developer Damac was one of just a few gainers, jumping 2.6 per cent.

Stock markets across the Middle East fell on Sunday after oil prices dropped again. Saudi Arabia, heavily influenced by the petrochemicals sector, led losses, hitting a four-month low.
Dubai's bourse fell 0.9 per cent and property developer Damac was one of just a few gainers, jumping 2.6 per cent. The company said on Sunday its board would discuss second quarter results and a dividend payout on Tuesday.
Damac's board will also discuss the adoption of the IFRS 15 accounting standard, which allows developers to recognise off-plan sales earlier than under current practice.
Meanwhile, mortgage lender Amlak Finance tumbled 8.5 per cent and was the most traded stock in Dubai. Amlak had gained 150 per cent since it resumed trading in June after a multi-year suspension, and many fund managers and analysts saw the gains as highly speculative.
Abu Dhabi's bourse lost 0.9 per cent. The main Saudi index sank 3.2 per cent to 8,807 points, its biggest daily loss since late March, with nearly all stocks in the red.
Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries tumbled 3.9 per cent. The company's profits have been hurt by the drop in oil prices over the last 12 months, and the commodity's fresh weakness is a concern for investors.
US crude posted its biggest monthly drop - 21 per cent - since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday after a string of losses in July triggered by China's stock market slump and signs that top Middle East producers were pumping crude at record levels. Brent lost five per cent on the week and 18 per cent on the month.
In the latest monthly Reuters survey of Middle East fund managers, published on Thursday, 40 per cent said they expected to cut equity allocations to Saudi Arabia in the next three months and just seven per cent to increase them. That compared with 27 per cent intending to decrease allocations and 13 per cent to increase them in June.
With the exception of Turkey, Saudi Arabia was seen as the most negative major Middle Eastern equities market, because of high valuations and the heavy weighting of petrochemicals.
Another factor that may have hurt the sentiment of Saudi investors was a fresh restatement of earnings by telecommunications firm Mobily for the last 27 months; it slashed total profits over the period by nearly 1.76 billion riyals ($470 million) in its latest attempt to resolve an accounting scandal.
Qatar fell 1.1 per cent. Heavyweight Industries Qatar, whose earnings are sensitive to oil prices, also fell 1.1 per cent.
Egypt's stock index inched up in early trade but then turned negative under the pressure of selling by Arab retail investors and closed 0.4 per cent lower.
Commercial International Bank, the country's biggest listed lender, fell 2.4 per cent despite reporting second quarter results last week that were in line with analysts' forecasts. But Ezz Steel rose two per cent after Egyptian media reported that the state energy company had contracted to obtain a floating liquefied natural gas terminal that would supply the industrial sector. Ezz and other manufacturers have been suffering from severe energy shortages. - Reuters