Most major Gulf markets in red on recession fears

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Most major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Monday, with the Saudi index on course to extend losses from the previous session as recession fears weighed on investor sentiment.

Thursday had seen the European Central Bank and the Bank of England join the U.S. Federal Reserve in pledging more interest rate rises, spurring concerns of a global economic downturn and weighing on appetite for risky assets.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed's policy moves closely, directly exposing the region to monetary tightening in the world's largest economy.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index dropped 0.5%, with Dr Sulaiman AL-Habib Medical Services falling 2.4% and Retal Urban Development Co declining 0.7%.

State energy firms Saudi Aramco and Sinopec plan to build a new refinery-petrochemical complex in southeast China that will commence operation by the end of 2025.

The companies have signed a heads of agreement to build the complex at Gulei, Fujian province. It will include a 320,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery and a 1.5-million-tonnes-per-year cracker, Aramco said in a statement on Sunday.

hares of Aramco were down 0.5%.

Abu Dhabi's index  fell 0.3%. The country's biggest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank, was down 0.1%.

Dubai's main share index eased 0.1%, on track to end four sessions of gains.

The Qatari benchmark however, bucked the trend to move 0.1% higher, helped by a 2.1% rise in the Gulf's biggest lender, Qatar National Bank.