Saudi Arabia's bourse made its largest one-day decline in eight months Sunday and most other regional markets also fell as investors sold off ahead of an expected drop in global markets Monday. Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index dropped 1.84 percent to close at 7,717.72 points, its biggest daily decline since August 20. Shares worth SR18 billion ($4.80 billion) exchanged hands. Technical analysis suggests the index has support between 7,500 and 7,600 points. Petrochemical and banking shares fell, with these two the largest sectors on the Kingdom's bourse. Bellwether Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) slid 1.9 percent, Al Rajhi Bank declined 0.9 percent and telecoms operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) shed 2.2 percent. The market is still up nearly 20 percent this year and analysts had warned it was over-bought. "We can attribute this to American markets which are showing a big drop tomorrow," said Mohammad Omran, an independent financial analyst based in Saudi Arabia. "We need a sign of recovery to stop the losses at this stage or this week will be the worst for Saudi since the start of the year. The downtrend is likely to continue for the next few days," he added. World stock markets look poised to fall early this week and safe-haven government debt prices could rally after US employment figures fell short of expectations on Friday. US stock futures fell more than 1 percent and Treasuries prices rallied after US payrolls grew by 120,000 in March, far below the expected gain of 203,000 jobs. The MSCI All-County World Index has dipped 2.9 percent after hitting an eight-month high on March 27. Concerns about slower growth in the United States and China, along with a revival of worries about the euro-zone debt crisis, have reduced appetite for stocks. "I think the market will grind higher, but it will be at a much slower pace," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "Earnings and jobs aren't helping." "It seems like we're hitting resistance," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank in Chicago. "I think the market will grind higher, but it will be at a much slower pace. Earnings and jobs aren't helping." US stock futures fell more than 1 percent on Friday after US payrolls grew by 120,000 in March, far below the expected gain of 203,000 jobs. World markets look poised to fall this week even as the focus shifts to the beginning of earnings season. "In the UAE, I don't see a lot of upside unless companies start giving great results," says Ali Adou Portfolio Manager at The National Investor. "But much of these results are already priced in. Unless the numbers are extremely surprising, we won't see much upside." Dubai measure fell 1.1 percent to 1,669 points. "Dubai will continue its flat movement between 1,640 and 1,720 points in the short-term," said Mohabeldeen Agena, head of technical analysis at Cairo's Beltone Financial. Investors are waiting for first-quarter earnings to give the market direction. Abu Dhabi index eased 0.03 percent to 2,558 points. Qatar benchmark dipped 0.5 percent at 8,778 points. "Qatar lost some steam after its late-March rally, falling short of key resistance at 8,910, but the battle for higher ground isn't over yet," said Sleiman Aboulhosn, assistant fund manager at Al Masah Capital. "What we're seeing now might be an interim dip ahead of earnings releases, which, if robust, can drive sentiment higher." "The Doha index still trades at nine times trailing earnings with a dividend yield in excess of 4 percent, which is one of the highest regionally," he added. Oman index gained 0.3 percent to 5,842 points. Kuwait measure ticked up 0.1 percent to 6,154 points. Bahrain measure climbed 0.2 percent to 1,143 points.
