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- Asian shares track Wall Street lower
- Saudi index recovers most of the incurred losses on Monday
- Oil prices drop
- Dollar, gold add gains
Global markets
Asian shares tracked early on Tuesday a drop overnight on Wall Street.
U.S. shares reversed on Monday early gains that they recorded following a stronger Chinese market to end the day lower.
The S&P 500 lost 0.43 percent as investors kept a wary eye on earnings amid global growth worries. Shares in Amazon and Apple rose ahead of third quarter earnings.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropping 1.3 percent.
“In short, the world seems to be getting into chaos,” Akira Takei, bond fund manager at Asset Management One, told Reuters.
Middle East markets
In Dubai, the index closed up 0.4 percent with developer Emaar Properties rising 1.2 percent and Emirates NBD adding 1.1 percent.
Mashreqbank reported a 4.6 percent third quarter net profit for 2018 of 587 million dirhams ($159.8 million), compared to 561 million dirhams a year ago, representing a 4.6 percent quarterly increase. The bank’s shares gained 2.87 percent on Monday, but traded volumes on the stock were low. The bank’s stock price now stands at 70 dirhams.
Abu Dhabi's bluechip index saw a 0.3 percent gain, aided by a 5.6 percent jump in Agthia Group and a 0.4 percent rise in bluechip First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Saudi Arabia’s index edged 0.2 percent lower after recovering most of the losses incurred during the day. The index had fallen as much as 3.3 percent during the day. Stock exchange data released on Sunday showed foreigners sold a net 4.01 billion riyals ($1.07 billion) in Saudi stocks in the week ending October 18.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp reversed losses to gain 1.6 percent, while Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp also ended 1.1 percent higher.
Qatar's stock index rose 1.2 percent aided by its banks. Qatar National Bank gained 1.6 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank recorded a 1.7 percent increase.
Egypt’s index gained 0.9 percent, Kuwait’s index dropped 0.4 percent, while Bahrain and Oman’s indices ended the day mainly flat.
Oil prices
Oil prices dropped early on Tuesday.
Front-month Brent crude oil futures were at $79.52 a barrel at 0318 GMT, down 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $69.16 a barrel, dropping 20 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last settlement.
“Iran oil sanctions and Jamal Khashoggi’s saga are clear examples of the indisputable role geopolitics play in oil, and this is expected to impact oil price and volatility at a time when markets are just about balanced,” J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients, according to a Reuters report.
“We have just upgraded our price forecasts for 2019 Brent by $20.5 per barrel to $83.5 per barrel,” the U.S. bank said, adding that this “bullish argument is strongly driven by tighter supply due to Iranian sanctions and declining spare capacity.”
Currencies
The dollar strengthened on Tuesday, as the currency is now seen as a safe haven due to uncertainty over Brexit.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, traded at 96.02 on Tuesday, gaining marginally.
Precious metals
Gold prices inched up on Tuesday on lower equities.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,222.53 an ounce at 0056 GMT.
U.S. gold futures edged up 0.1 percent to $1,225.30 an ounce.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Shane Mcginley)
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