Today, the middle east stock markets mostly declined, along with their various indices. The main cause was the decrease in oil prices. Oil has gone down over the past three consecutive trading sessions to settle at $92.3 Additionally, concern over the Euro-crisis has spread to emerging markets.
The Egyptian markets continue to adjust to the current political mess. Elections are set to take place in two weeks, and yesterday former president Hosni Mubarak received a life sentence. This enraged many protesters who were eager to see him get the death sentence.
Egypt’s EGX 100 Index (EGX100), which contains the one hundred largest Egyptian companies in terms of liquidity and activity, slumped to a low of 723.23 from the previous close of 732.32. The biggest gainer, El Nasr Co for Transformers and Electrical Products (NASR), was up by 3.36% while the biggest loser, Development & Engineering Consulting (DAPH), was down 6.77%.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share TASI Index (SASEIDX), was up 1% today recovering, from Saturday’s plunge, which saw it close 4.2% lower. Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s leading oil producer.
Bahrain’s All Share Index (BHSEASI) had a bumpy day, and only closed 1.42 points lower ( -0.12%). It was one of the stronger performers, along with with the Qatari FTSE NASDAQ Dubai Qatar 10 Index (DQAT), which was down 0.69%.
Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) was down 2.0% from Saturday’s price. with fears beckoning an eclipse of January’s 7-year low of 1301 points. The market is near a 7 year low reached in January, after hitting a 16 month high in March.
Analysts note that the UAE market is very illiquid, with one trader about to move the market. Dubai is an emirate within the UAE.
Israel’s Tel Aviv Tel Tech Index (TACT) plunged 2.58%, shedding 8.42 points.The blue tech share index is composed of 50 stocks with the highest market capitalization. Babylon Ltd (TLV:BBYL), a company that translates and sell online dictionaries typically to companies in the technology sector, lost 7.43%
