Saudi Arabia’s index fell for a fifth session in six on Sunday following downbeat earnings from some petrochemical companies. The sector index is at a 26-month low and recent gains in oil prices – seen as a key indicator for petrochemical prices – may not be enough to boost sentiment.
Other Gulf markets have also been in the doldrums and traders say this trend will likely continue.
“It’s a combination of reasons – one is that we’re still in vacation season, so a lot of the big traders are outside the country and away from the market, especially in Oman and Saudi,” says Adel Nasr, United Securities brokerage manager in Muscat.
“That has really affected volumes and we can’t see any obvious direction for the market because of their absence.