Gulf stocks drop
dubai — Saudi Arabian stocks declined to a five-week low, leading losses across most Middle Eastern equities, after Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence, triggered a slump in crude prices by placing the onus of reducing oil output on other countries.
The Tadawul All Share Index decreased 1.6 per cent to close at 6,126.12 points, nearing the 50-day moving average it’s traded above for more than a month. Saudi Telecom Co led the retreat in the first day of the exchange’s new trading hours. Dubai’s DFM General Index fell 1.6 per cent and Kuwait’s SE Price Index slipped 0.4 per cent.
Brent crude, a pricing benchmark for half the world’s oil, declined to $38.67 per barrel on Friday after Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg News that cutbacks in Saudi Arabia’s oil production must be coupled with that of other major producers, includ-
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ing Iran. His comments come weeks before a meeting in Doha this month to help limit output. Equities in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council are closely correlated to the price of crude, which accounts for the bulk of government revenue.
The commodity fell 4.4 per cent last week, the biggest decline since the period ending January 15.
Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index lost 0.7 per cent, led by Aldar Properties’s 2.6 per cent retreat. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co, also known as Taqa, slid 6.1 per cent on almost four times the three-month average trading volume.
Qatar’s QE Index dropped 1.2 per cent and Bahrain’s BB All Share Index declined 0.4 per cent. Oman’s MSM 30 Index bucked the trend, rising 0.4 per cent. Egypt’s EGX 30 Index was little changed as of 2:14pm in Cairo. —