(Reuters) – Gulf’s main stock markets have plummeted in early trading ahead of the normal outturn of quarterly and full-year corporate yields over the next few weeks, with Dubai’s index leading the way. call.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.2%, led down by a 0.4% decline for Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.2% retreat in shares of Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib’s Medical Services.
The country’s inflation rate rose to 3.4% in 2020, government data, taken by three times the value-added tax last year as the state seeks to boost revenues with a coronavirus crisis, showed and lower oil prices.
Oil prices, a key tool for the Gulf region’s financial markets, bounced back more than 2% on Friday as concerns about Chinese coronavirus locks updated rally led by strong data from major crude imports in the world.[O/R]
Dubai’s main index lost 0.4%, with Emirates Bank NBD down 0.4% while Emaar’s holdings with blue developer fell 0.5%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.1% as telecoms company Etisalat and First Abu Dhabi Bank, the copuntry’s largest lender, returned 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.
Qatar’s index was also trading 0.1% lower, measured by a 0.4% fall for the Gulf’s largest lender, the National Bank of Qatar.
Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Edited by David Goodman