JEDDAH — Middle East stock markets fell on Wednesday in line with global equities that, along with commodity prices, came under pressure from the continuing devaluation of the Chinese yuan. Saudi Arabia's main index dipped by 0.6 percent to 8,708 points, with most blue-chip stocks in negative territory. Petrochemicals heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the shares of which are sensitive to oil prices, slipped 0.3 percent. The sell-off also affected other sectors. The kingdom's biggest listed foodmaker, Savola Group, fell 2.6 percent and National Commercial Bank, the biggest local lender, was down 0.8 percent. Dubai's index fell 1.2 percent to 4,022 points, with Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank down 1.6 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. Construction and engineering company Drake and Scull tumbled by 3.7 percent after it reported a 60 percent decline in second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders. The company said sentiment in the sector was bearish and its margins had come under pressure because of delays on several projects. Abu Dhabi's bourse lost 1 percent to 4,766 points, with oil and gas company Dana Gas down 1.7 percent. Qatar's index inched 0.1 percent lower 11,773 points. Gulf International Services, which provides drilling rigs and other services for the oil and gas sector, was the biggest faller, dropping by 3.4 percent. Even oil's midday rebound failed to stop the sell-off and Egypt, which unlike Gulf states also faces pressure on its currency, was hit the most. The Cairo index dropped 2.1 percent, with most stocks in the red. Non-Arab institutional investors were the main net sellers, according to bourse data. Commercial International Bank, the country's biggest listed lender, dropped 2.7 percent. Property developer Talaat Moustafa Group and investment bank EFG Hermes both lost ground despite positive earnings announcements. Talaat Moustafa fell 3.5 percent after reporting a 12 percent increase in first-half profit, while EFG Hermes dropped by 3.4 percent after second-quarter results showed net profit up 38 percent, excluding a non-recurring gain from the sale of itsstake in developer SODIC. “Today's sell-off was mostly due to China,” said Harshjit Oza, an analyst at Cairo-based Naeem brokerage. “All emerging markets went through some correction because of that.” He added that slower growth of China's economy could hit traffic in the Suez Canal, which is an important foreign currency earner for Cairo. — SG
