Saudi Arabia's stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) dropped 1.21 percent on Wednesday to close at 6,187.97 - its largest decline since June 29. Further losses are forecast as the Kingdom's bourse tracked stuttering world markets and oil. World oil prices fell sharply Wednesday in line with tumbling global equity markets as investors set aside a positive International Energy Agency report on demand. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September, dropped $2.23 to end the day at $78.02. London's Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September sank 1.96 to $77.64 a barrel. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) fell 1.7 percent, slipping to a three-week low, Al-Rajhi Bank dipped 1.3 percent and Samba Financial Group lost 2.1 percent. US stocks erased the year's gains in the broadest selloff in a month-and-a-half on Wednesday as fears of sustained global economic stagnation caused investors to flee to safer assets. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 265.42 points, or 2.49 percent, at 10,378.83. Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 31.59 points, or 2.82 percent, at 1,089.47. Nasdaq Composite Index was down 68.54 points, or 3.01 percent, at 2,208.63. The Nasdaq was down 2.7 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 was down 2.3 percent and the Dow was down 0.5 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index surged 13 percent, suggesting investors see further choppiness. Dubai's index dipped 0.9 percent to 1,483 points, a five-week low. Kuwait's index fell 0.4 percent to 6,674 points, easing from Tuesday's two-month high. Qatar's index QSI fell 0.3 percent to 7,104 points, its first day in three, tracking declines on regional and world markets amid fresh worries over the global economy. In the next two months, Kingdom will be related to the international situation.
