Gulf stock markets struggled to remain in the profit one this week, as investors kept a close eye on Wall Street and other major world bourses as well as on oil prices which appeared stable at over $80 a barrel, financial analysts said Friday. Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel Friday ahead of a key employment report that will help investors gauge the strength of the US economy. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for September delivery was down 20 cents to $81.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 46 cents to settle at $82.01 on Thursday. In London, Brent crude was down 50 cents to $81.11 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil fell 0.79 cent to $2.1789 a gallon, gasoline lost 0.75 cent to $2.1569 a gallon and natural gas dropped 0.3 cent to 4.595 per 1,000 cubic feet. Saudi shares were volatile this week due to conflicting reports about world recovery that prompted investors to resort to profit taking tactics to avoid any unforeseen losses, analysts said. Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) gained 0.5 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,300.44 points. Saudi analysts said TASI's success to remain above the 6,200-point area for weeks was indicative of fresh rallies, barring any unforeseen negative developments on the world scene. Kuwaiti stocks edged higher, receiving support mainly from the services and industry sectors, analysts said. Kuwait's KSE all-share index gained 0.17 percent this week, to close at 6,666 points. The UAE shares reflected mixed performance this week as investors monitored Dubai World steps to handle its debt crisis. Dubai index gained 0.36 percent this week, to close at 1,517 points, receiving support from the sectors of utilities, investments and real estate, analysts said. The Abu Dhabi index fell 0.64 percent, closing at 2,529 points, due to pressure from the banking and real estate sectors. “I believe Middle East markets, particularly in the Gulf area, will retain their psychological connection with global markets in the coming weeks,” an analyst said.
