(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Most Gulf stock markets fell on Thursday as Brent oil dipped below $50 per barrel again.
Abu Dhabi's bourse slipped 0.2 per cent as telecommunications operator etisalat dropped 3.2 per cent. Its competitor Dubai-listed du said on Wednesday the UAE had started to open its fixed-line consumer telecommunications market to competition. Du whose shares rose as much as 0.8 per cent early on Thursday before closing 0.2 per cent lower in a broad sell-off had been largely confined to the newer areas of Dubai until it started offering fixed-line consumer services across the whole country last month stepping up competition with etisalat du chief executive Osman Sultan told a conference call. Dubai's index fell 1.0 per cent as property-related stocks pulled back after surging in the previous session. Damac Properties the most traded stock fell 1.4 per cent having risen its daily 15 per cent limit on Wednesday when the company said it had more than tripled its second-quarter profit. Budget carrier Air Arabia fell 1.8 per cent after it reported a 13.6 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit to Dh146.2 million ($39.8 million). That was better than analysts had expected - on average they had predicted Dh133.7 million - but revenues at the airline fell apparently because of price competition. Dubai port operator DP World added 1.3 per cent; it has gained 5.9 per cent since July 28 when it announced plans for a $1.6 billion Jebel Ali port upgrade and reported a four per cent increase in container volumes for the first half. The main Saudi index was down about one per cent before news of the attack and then slid further closing 1.6 per cent down at a four-month low of 8655 points. Petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries down 2.3 per cent was the main drag on the benchmark. Banking and consumer blue chips were also soft. Top lender National Commercial Bank fell 0.9 per cent and food maker Savola Group dropped 2.3 per cent. Telecommunications operator Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) fell 3.1 per cent. The stock has now plunged 14.5 per cent since the firm revised earnings for more than two years and posted a second-quarter loss last week. Qatar's bourse fell 0.6 per cent. Mesaieed Petrochemical slid 1.3 per cent after announcing its net profit fell 55 per cent to 403 million riyals ($110.7 million) in the first half of this year. But Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan edged up 0.3 per cent after Moody's changed its outlook on the bank's long-term issuer ratings to positive from stable. - Reuters
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