Most Gulf stock markets continued the downward movement on Tuesday, with the exception of Qatar and Kuwait. Saudi petrochemical stocks fell on Tuesday as fresh wobbles on regional and global markets spurred investors to reduce positions ahead of the Kingdom's third-quarter earnings season, which starts next week. Tadawul All Share Index fell 0.74 percent to 6,403.93 points. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) lost 1.1 percent and Yanbu National Petrochemical Co dropped 2.3 percent. “We have Q3 around the corner so there is hesitation and people definitely don't want to take fresh positions,” said a Riyadh-based trader who asked not to be identified. “Uncertainty is also creeping back into global markets and US treasury yields are falling, which shows risk aversion is increasing. That is being translated into Saudi petrochemicals, which have come off in the past couple of days.” Petrochemicals are seen as a proxy for the world economy. US oil prices slipped on Tuesday in choppy trading as an anticipated fuel stocks rise and weak demand data countered a lift from the dollar's slump after a consumer confidence drop fed expectations that the Federal Reserve will print money to buy assets. US crude for November delivery fell 34 cents, or 0.44 percent, to settle at $76.18 per barrel, having traded from $75.53 to $77.12 and remaining inside Monday's trading range of $75.52 to $77.17. ICE Brent November crude managed to finish up 14 cents, or 0.18 percent, at $78.71 a barrel. Elsewhere in the region, Dubai index fell 0.5 percent to 1,690 points. Abu Dhabi measure slipped 0.1 percent to 2,661 points. Oman index dropped 0.3 percent to 6,500 points. Bahrain index fell 0.2 percent to 1,451 points. However, Kuwait and Qatar indices climbed 0.6 percent to 6,870 points and 0.2 percent to 7,647 points, respectively. – SG
