26/11/2014 04:34 AST
Muscat bourse general index declined by 1.6 per cent, most since October 16, to 6,936.88 at the close in Muscat.
Muscat Securities Market witnessed a turnover of OMR12.37 million, amid 23.06 million shares changing hand. The major losers included ONIC Holding, National Aluminium Products, Al Anwar Holding, Gulf Investment Services and Dhofar Cattle Feed.
The market has been declining mainly on account of an increase in natural gas price and royalty paid by telecommunication companies and mining firms.
Saudi shares drop
Saudi Arabian stocks headed for the lowest close since March on speculation that Opec's biggest producer won't cut production to bolster the price of oil. Shares in Abu Dhabi also declined.
The Tadawul All Share Index lost 1.6 per cent to 9,252.91 at 2:49pm in Riyadh. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., one of the world's largest petrochemicals producers, slipped 3.4 per cent in a second day of declines. Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index dropped the most in the world, losing 2.1 per cent.
Members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will meet this week to decide on a response to a price collapse that sent oil into a bear market. Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world's oil, lost 0.3 per cent this week to $80.14 a barrel, near a four-year low. If the market is oversupplied, it isn't the first time, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said in Vienna on Monday.
"What investors today are afraid of is that Saudi in reality may not cut down on oil quantities produced," Yazan Abdeen, lead fund manager at Jeddah-based Sedco Capital, said by phone on Tuesday.
"This is being reflected in the price drop of some of the petrochemical stocks as well." Saudi Arabia needs oil to average $99.2 a barrel this year to balance its budget, according to Deutsche Bank. Opec is considering exempting Iraq, Iran and Libya from any potential oil-production cuts, two people with knowledge of the proposal said.
MSCI adjustment
In the United Arab Emirates, National Bank of Abu Dhabi dropped the most in almost five years, retreating 6.8 per cent to Dh13. It was the biggest decliner on Abu Dhabi's gauge.
Dubai's DFM General Index fell 1.5 per cent led by Dubai Islamic Bank. Qatar's QE Index slid the most in almost three weeks, declining 1.9 per cent.
MSCI, whose gauges are tracked by investors managing about $9 trillion in assets, said in April it would cut the weighting of some of the UAE and Qatar stocks in its Emerging Markets Index by a factor of 0.5 because of ownership restrictions.
In its latest review, MSCI removed the adjustment for some companies, and the new weightings were effective from Tuesday.
"Foreign investors were building positions for a month for this event with the expectation that on the day the inflows would push the market higher both in the UAE and Qatar," Ahmed Shehada, head of advisory and institutions at NBAD Securities, said by e-mail.
"From the looks of it, the market had sellers, both local and foreign, and the oversupply meant that the selling outweighed the MSCI inflows."
Times of Oman
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