By Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: Stock markets across the GCC region and Egypt steeply declined on Thursday, as investor sentiment dampened due to the drop in oil prices and the decline in U.S. stocks.
At 12:45pm Cairo time, Egypt’s main index fell to its lowest level since October, 2013, as it shed 288.3 points to reach 5,916.73 points.
Institutional investors, especially foreign ones, led the way on dumping shares, as losses seen by stocks were beyond those estimated by the portfolio managers, said Fouad Darwish, economist.
He added that the fall in crude prices to $30 per barrel also worsened investor sentiment.
Brent oil fell by $0.65 to reach $29.96 per barrel, thus bottoming out at a new record low in 12 years.
Similarly, Saudi Tadawul fell nearly 3.2% to reach 5,842.73 points by 2:45pm Riyadh time, which is the lowest level since April, 2011.
According to the analyst, traders are extremely cautious due to the fall in oil and its impact on GDP of Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar that rely mainly on crude in its revenues.
Dubai Financial Market shed 3.6% in late trading to reach 2,815.45 points; the lowest level since mid-December. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange also lost 1.62% or 65.12 points to reach 3,955.10 points.
Qatar Stock Exchange shut 2.3% or 220.26 points lower at 9,185.12 points, while Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) shed 1.6% to 5,265.94 points and Bahrain Bourse sagged 0.05% or 0.65 point to 1,200.91 points. Muscat bourse ended 1.6% or 86.6 points lower at 5,112.52 points.
Darwish expects GCC bourses to see a rebound triggered by speculations, as stock reached attractive price levels and given the imminent disclosure of corporate results.
Translated by Sayed Abdel Rahman
