Stock news: Dubai tumbles 2.7% after oil hits new low

Dubai’s stock market led losses in the Gulf early on Thursday after oil prices in the United States tumbled to their lowest level since 2009.

U.S. crude slumped over 4 per cent on Wednesday as a huge, unexpected stockpile build in the United States reinforced concerns about a growing global oil glut. The European Brent crude benchmark dropped 3.4 per cent on Wednesday. Both U.S. oil and Brent have edged down 0.6 per cent in Asian trade on Thursday morning.

Dubai’s main equities index dropped 2.7 per cent to a four-month low of 3,730 points as nearly all stocks fell. Technically, a triple top formed by the peaks since April and triggered this week points down to the 3,600-point area.

Developer Emaar Properties, the most traded stock, tumbled 4.4 percent and its smaller competitor DAMAC was down 4.1 per cent.

With a diversified business base, Dubai’s economy is relatively well insulated from tumbling oil prices, but there is concern over the impact of cheap oil on neighbouring economies and a possible pull-out of money by Saudi investors, who have been burned by a plunge of their own stock market.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Abu Dhabi’s bourse fell 1.4 per cent. Kuwait’s index edged down 0.2 per cent and Oman slipped 0.05 per cent.