Dubai leads most Gulf bourses lower on recession fears

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• Dubai index fell the most, hit by global recession concerns
• Burj Khalifa developer Emaar Properties dropped 2.8%
• Qatar finished 1.7% down, while Saudi was up 0.6%

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday, with the Dubai index falling most, hit by concern over a possible global recession.

Dubai’s main share index lost 1.9 percent, dragged down by a 2.8 percent fall for blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.7 percent decline for sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank.

Separately, Dubai road-toll operator Salik has appointed Ibrahim Al Haddad as chief executive, it said on Wednesday, in a move that showed the company was moving closer to its planned flotation.

In Abu Dhabi, equities eased by 0.2 percent, hit by a 0.4 percent fall in conglomerate International Holding.

The United Arab Emirates is boosting state spending on social welfare by billions of dollars as it seeks to shield its citizens from rising living costs.

The UAE is doubling the financial support it provides to low-income Emirati families to 28 billion dirhams ($7.6 billion) to help them contend with soaring inflation in the Gulf state.

The Qatari benchmark finished 1.7 percent down, with petrochemicals company Industries Qatar retreating 3.9 percent.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index reversed early losses to close 0.6 percent up, ending four sessions of losses, with Al Rajhi Bank rising 2 percent and Riyad Bank advancing 2.8 percent.

Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial markets, rose on Wednesday, clawing back some of the previous day’s heavy losses as supply concerns returned to the fore and outweighed lingering global recession fears.

Advanced Petrochemical Co slid 3.6 percent, however, after a steep fall in quarterly profit.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index edged 0.2 percent higher, helped by a 0.6 percent gain for Commercial International Bank.

The Egyptian stock market was volatile and remained exposed to the downside as inflation and risk aversion weighed on investor sentiment, said CAPEX.com analyst Fadi Reyad.

The market could find some relief if talks to bring a resumption in grain exports from Ukraine prove successful, Reyad added.

SAUDI ARABIA rose 0.6 percent to 11,417

ABU DHABI down 1.9 percent to 3,062

DUBAI lost 0.2 percent to 9,251

QATAR dropped 1.7 percent to 12,061

EGYPT gained 0.2 percent to 8,670

BAHRAIN eased 0.4 percent to 1,869

OMAN added 0.1 percent to 4,124

KUWAIT declined 1.3 percent to 8,224