Middle East stocks are taking their cue from last week’s global sell-off as the emergence of a worrying new coronavirus variant reverberates through markets, sending every major index into retreat.
Coming in the wake of Friday’s worldwide slump, the declines across the energy-rich markets of the Gulf threaten to undo some of the gains made this year amid a flurry of initial public offerings and a rally in oil prices. Brent, the benchmark grade for more than half the world’s oil, lost almost 12 per cent on Friday on concern the new Covid variant will crimp air travel and usher in fresh lockdowns.
Dubai’s benchmark gauge was down 5.16 per cent, while Saudi Arabia’s main index fell the most since October 2020.
