Mideast Stocks Extend Drop as Dubai Index Heads for Bear Market - Bloomberg Business

Mideast Stocks Extend Drop as Dubai Index Heads for Bear Market - Bloomberg Business:



"Dubai stocks headed for a bear market as Middle East markets extended declines amid a global equity rout and as Brent crude fell below $45 per barrel for the first time since 2009.



The DFM General Index decreased 4.4 percent to 3,298.28 at 10:44 a.m. local time, taking its retreat from an April peak to 22 percent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index slid to its lowest level since December and was down 15 percent from a recent high in July. Qatar’s QE Index lost for a seventh day, poised for the longest losing streak since April 2013. Brent sank 2.6 percent to $44.28 a barrel.



Dubai’s gauge will be the second in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in two days to enter a bear market after Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index tumbled the most this year on Sunday. The slide in Brent to the lowest in more than six years is piling pressure on Gulf states, which rely on oil income to fund government spending. The GCC is home to about 30 percent of the world’s proven crude reserves."



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